Cuban exile entrepreneur calls for Marshall-Plan aid and sweeping reforms

Born in Havana’s Miramar district in 1948, Carlos Saladrigas arrived in Florida as part of Operation Peter Pan and later founded the Vincam Group, once the largest Hispanic-owned HR firm in the United States. Now 78, he co-founded the Cuba Study Group and spends much of his time advising on island-wide private-sector growth. Saladrigas contends that Cuba’s dire economic situation cannot be solved by market forces alone; it requires deep political reforms, an independent court system, a stable banking sector and a credible currency.

He warns that without such changes, any foreign investment will remain speculative, especially given recent government seizures of foreign-currency accounts. The businessman proposes that the United States lift all sanctions for two to three years, after which a Marshall-Plan-style loan program could fund power grids, schools and hospitals, paving the way for sustainable private-sector expansion. He stresses that any aid must preserve Cuban sovereignty while fostering transparency, a new constitution and free elections, arguing that the exile community’s capital—both remittances and formal investment—could be the engine of recovery if these conditions are met.