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Translated by Donna Lee Hicks Cédula 001-1203435-0 Tel.: Celular: E-mail: www.sdlanguagesolutions.com RPE No. 30793 Cuba in its new stage: SWOT Analysis Fundacion Internacional para la Libertad (“\nternational Foundation for Freedom”) New York, 8 November 2015 On August 14th, 2015, the United States flag was raised in Havana, formally reestablishing diplomatic Relations between the United States and Cuba, which had been interrupted since January 3", 1961, some 54 years ago, when Ike Eisenhower was in power in Washington and Fidel Castro in Havana. The President of the United States, Barack Obama, and his Secretary of State, John Kerry, among many other personalities, have requested the lifting of the economic embargo imposed on Cuba by John F. Kennedy in 1962, in the midst of the Cold War, and in recent days through Havana have come Germans, French, Dutch, and Spaniards to propose bridges to the Island. The perception is that Cuba, the largest of the thirteen markets in the Caribbean and with the largest population, followed very closely by the Dominican Republic, again opens itself up to international trade and relations. Overview of the Spanish Antilles Cuba: 110,860 Km2 — 11,031,000 inhabitants — GDP per capita (PPP) US$10,200. Dominican Republic - 46,670 km2 — 10,349,741 inhabitants — GDP per capita (PPP) US$12,800 Puerto Rico: 13,790 km2 — 3,620,897 inhabitants — GDP per capital (PPP) US$16,300 For purposes of brevity and objectivity, given the composition of this audience, I’m going to employ the structure of the so-called SWOT analysis for contributing to the business decision of investing in that market, refraining from doing so, or awaiting greater clarity and better times. It will not be my function to recommend what should be done, but rather to place certain data and basic elements on the table for decision-makers. They will know what is best for them to do. The SWOT analysis, as we know, lists the positive Strengths, the present Opportunities, the Weaknesses perceived, and the Threats detected. Strengths 1. The thawing announced simultaneously by Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro last December 17", to which are added the various steps taken by both governments in HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_025094