MIAMI — In what appears to be a first in more than six decades, the U.S. has authorized an American company to finance and invest in a private business in Cuba, an unprecedented move that could open the gate to American investment to help Cubans on the island gain economic independence from the state.
The U.S. embargo on Cuba, in place since 1960, prohibits most financial transactions involving Cuban nationals or entities, unless they fall under an exception or are authorized by a license. The people behind the recent initiative believe this is the first time the U.S. government authorizes direct financing and investment in a Cuban private enterprise.
The decision came last week, when the U.S. Treasury Department allowed a company headed by John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, to invest and lend money to a small private business in the service sector in Cuba.
