MIAMI, United States. – The EFE news agency revealed this Wednesday the name of the American businessman who obtained the first license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC, for its acronym in English) in more than 60 years to invest in a company based in Cuba. This is John Kavulich, the president of the United States-Cuba Economic and Trade Council.
Kavulich told EFE that he has spent nearly a year in contact with Biden administration officials, congressmen and senators who have allegedly helped bring this operation to fruition.
The businessman did not offer many details about the investment “of up to $25,000” approved by OFAC, nor did he specify the name of the Cuban entity involved.
However, he told EFE that he preferred to wait for the Cuban government to give its approval and announced that the business in question – which has been in the service sector for more than five years and shows continuous growth – was not related to the Cuban government. Miguel Diaz-Canel.
In addition, he indicated that he had discovered the Cuban company in a Facebook group and said he was “90% sure” that the island’s regime would give its approval to the investment.
“My 90% certainty is not because the Cuban government is enthusiastic, but because it is necessary,” he specified.
On the other hand, he avoided referring to the name of his interlocutors in the Biden administration: “[Fueron] Biden-Harris administration officials, including the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the Defense Department, the Justice Department across the board, as well as with both houses of Congress.”
So far, no US government official has publicly alluded to the matter.
For Kavulich, the fact that an investment by a US businessman is allowed on the island could represent a great “potential” for the Cuban private sector.
In accordance with CubaTradeattorney Robert L. Muse, representing a client ―it was not known at the time that it was Kavulich―, had submitted the application for a license to invest in a “Cuban private company” before OFAC on June 10, 2021. Finally, the license was issued almost a year later, on May 10, 2022.
Less than a week after learning of the first license issued by OFAC in more than 60 years to invest in Cuba, the Biden administration announced a package of measures that relax the sanctions imposed on the regime in Havana.
“It’s hard not to see a connection – between the two things. We applied for the license on June 10, 2021. They issued the license on May 10, 2022, and six days later, they announced all these other changes. If one plus one equals two, in this case there is no doubt that it is not a coincidence, “said Kavulich.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
