Cuban entrepreneurs get business training from US, hope Biden lifts sanctions

[Judi Lynn]

ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press 56 min ago

Biden Administration Moves To Ease Some Trump-Era Restrictions On Cuba

The Biden administration says it will expand flights to Cuba, take steps to loosen restrictions on U.S. travelers to the island, and lift Trump-era restrictions on remittances that immigrants can send to people on the island.The State Department said in a statement Monday that it will remove…


HAVANA, Cuba — Musicians Ana María Torres and María Carla Puga started making bracelets and necklaces at home in Cuba during the pandemic, and they now have a flourishing business. On an island that for decades prohibited private enterprise, they have had an unlikely adviser: the U.S. Embassy.

Torres and Puga are part of a small group of entrepreneurs that benefited from a business training program the embassy recently offered in Cuba, where many young entrepreneurs are less wary of the American government than those in previous generations.

“We see it as a great opportunity,” says Torres, 25, who co-founded a store and workshop named Ama, which has a cafeteria and employs 12 people.



Maria Carla Puga, right, and Ana Maria Torres at their jewelry store and workshop named Ama, which also has a cafeteria, in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, on June 27. Torres and Puga are part of a small group of entrepreneurs benefiting from a business training program the U.S. Embassy is offering in Cuba.

Ismael Francisco, Associated Press

Ama is one of almost 8,000 small- and medium-sized companies that were legally authorized to operate in Cuba over the past year and a half.

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(Multiple photos within article.)