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Cuba!

jlwilliams

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Well, at long last, the United States is thawing it's long standing position of effectively shutting Cuba off from the US economy. For now, that means the beginnings of travel. Cigars and rum can trickle in, but not on a commercial level. We are a long way away from foreign real estate ownership or foreign investment in general. For now, the new policies are more or less cosmetic. But.....the door is cracking open. Opening up possibilities of travel. Opening up markets who may not have much money yet, but they sure do want to get a crack at all the bounty on the table so close but so far away. Far away, but getting closer...

There have been people waiting to invest in Cuba since they got thrown out. Many died waiting, others gave up and moved on. This has been a l o n g time coming.

My questions to you are simple. What does this mean to you? How do you think this will really unfold? How does this emerging market RIGHT NEXT FREAKING DOOR look to you? Is this not a once in a generation event?

Cuba has not yet given up Communism, but I still think that the examples shown to us by countries that have become "former-Communist" states should be seen as illustrative. If the past is any indication of the future, and it generally is, this will be anything but boring. Fortunes will be made in that tropical land.
 
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RHL

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How does this emerging market RIGHT NEXT FREAKING DOOR look to you? Is this not a once in a generation event?

I know very little about it besides general history, but there's gotta be massive opportunities there for people who do. I look forward to seeing a lot of Cuban-Americans go fastlane as a result of what shakes out now that the walls are coming down. You're thinking about this the right way.
 
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jlwilliams

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Too political. I am not touching this with a 10 foot pole.

Raoul, this thread is not meant to be political. "Communism" is among other things an economic system. I want to talk about how this new piece of current events will create economic opportunity. There are plenty of places on the web to discuss Communism from a political perspective, and I know this isn't one of them. Lets talk about the money.

There were a few years where the former Soviet republics were like the Wild West. Vast fortunes were made. I'm imagining this, in a beautiful tropical island nation within about an hour's air travel of the US mainland.
 

brandonrush

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Raoul, this thread is not meant to be political. "Communism" is among other things an economic system. I want to talk about how this new piece of current events will create economic opportunity. There are plenty of places on the web to discuss Communism from a political perspective, and I know this isn't one of them. Lets talk about the money.

There were a few years where the former Soviet republics were like the Wild West. Vast fortunes were made. I'm imagining this, in a beautiful tropical island nation within about an hour's air travel of the US mainland.

Unless I misunderstood I think @Raoul Duke was saying that he was staying away from dealing with Cuba politics in a business relationship, not this particular thread.
 

Kak

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I just want to be the first guy importing the cigars...

Lol you won't be.

Cuba is just another country. I like cigars from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic better. People in the states just need more exposure to Cuban cigars to come to the same conclusion I did.

The quality standards out of Cuba are just not as good as Fuente or Padron. Even the American market selection (so Dominican) Cohibas, Montecristos and R&Js are better in my opinion then their Cuban counterparts. Also Cubans are 5 times too expensive. I bought 10 Cuban montes in Scotland not too long ago... 67 bucks a stick...

That said, I would love to do a cigar tour in Cuba, but I don't really care how this all goes... You can do special trips already

Want to try a Cuban cigar? Go to the cigar shop and ask for a strong Honduran cigar. You won't be able to tell the difference.
 
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Jake

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The quality standards out of Cuba are just not as good as Fuente or Padron.
I tend to agree but both brands do have Cuban roots. I do love Cohiba Behikes...but my wallet doesn't.
 

miked_d

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When I saw this late last night I immediately thought OPPORTUNITY.

Cigars and rum are obvious choices but there are others. What are they?

What would Cubans want from America?
 

Red

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The quality standards out of Cuba are just not as good as Fuente or Padron.

I had my first *real* cuban in NYC, just outside of Central Park, in my early twenties. I like to think that I puked in that bush rather gracefully.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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From what I understand Havana was quite the party destination prior to Castro. Maybe it can return to its former glory.
 

OscarDeuce

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My understanding is you can go there and bring back $100 worth of goods for personal use. Unless the other shoe drops, I don't think we'll be importing cigars or rum legally anytime soon. I have to agree with the other posters, there are great cigars coming from Honduras, The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, etc. I suspect much of the allure of Cuban cigars is that they are illegal, the forbidden fruit. That said, sign me up for the cigar tour!

Cheers,
O-2
 
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Ninjakid

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Maybe Cuba will slowly ease into capitalism like China did. Just as foreign investors are allowed, there will probably be a huge economic boom. I'll probably be there to invest when it does.

From what I understand Havana was quite the party destination prior to Castro. Maybe it can return to its former glory.
For Americans with money to blow, yes. For everyone else, pure misery.
 

Texan

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Lol you won't be.

Cuba is just another country. I like cigars from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic better. People in the states just need more exposure to Cuban cigars to come to the same conclusion I did.

The quality standards out of Cuba are just not as good as Fuente or Padron. Even the American market selection (so Dominican) Cohibas, Montecristos and R&Js are better in my opinion then their Cuban counterparts. Also Cubans are 5 times too expensive. I bought 10 Cuban montes in Scotland not too long ago... 67 bucks a stick...

That said, I would love to do a cigar tour in Cuba, but I don't really care how this all goes... You can do special trips already

Want to try a Cuban cigar? Go to the cigar shop and ask for a strong Honduran cigar. You won't be able to tell the difference.

I brought some cigars back from Cuba in 2003 after I spent a summer there. Beautiful country. I loved the cigars, and I haven't tried the brands you mentioned. I'll keep those in mind.
 

Kak

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I brought some cigars back from Cuba in 2003 after I spent a summer there. Beautiful country. I loved the cigars, and I haven't tried the brands you mentioned. I'll keep those in mind.

You liked the sirloin. Now try a filet.
 
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jlwilliams

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I'll bet the fishing is great. Maybe a web based service connecting tourists with local guides would be a good venture. Of course, there probably isn't much internet access in Cuba. There is another huge need to be met that will make millions for the provider of that need.

Everybody thinks "cigars" when they hear "Cuba." That's the obvious word association game. There are fortunes laying on the ground waiting for the regulations to ease. There is more to that island than cigars and rum.
 

Rawr

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I am just on a chapter in a book "Fool's Paradise" that outlines how terrible the influx of Cubans had been to South Beach miami in the 1980s. Out of the 100k people that fled Cuba (not thrown out OP. Before Castro allowed this move, people literally STORMED barricaded consulates in peru and venezuela that were the only places they could get asylum. They would get in firefights with Castro's troops situated there to prevent anyone from doing so. People literally drove cars into the barriers to get a chance to escape.) So out of the 100k people, 25k were criminals. 100 were specifically murderers planted by Castro. When these people came to flordia, majority moved to lower miami south beach where housing was incredibly cheap due to the local RE giant Stephen Muss who wanted that area to become as ghetto as possible so he could rebuild south beach after the city deems it too dangerous to live in. The problem was, elderly jews, those who went through the concentration camps, lived there too. So now you had criminals and elderly people both living in poverty next to one another. The criminals were all armed, no shoes, but had a gun, and would camp out in alleys. Elderly women would get beaten, raped, murdered. In 1981 Miami became the murder capital of the world. There was a 1-1 ratio of 911 calls to number of people living in the area. The murder rate for cubans among each other was 5-1. And then these Cubans who lived in poverty looked at the Columbians who were suddenly buying Rolls Royces with cocaine money...and the bloodbath really started.


There are already Americans who own best waterfront property in Cuba. Their names are Bush, Kennedy, etc. They've been there for years.



Here is the day Castro bulldozed the fence by the embassy in peru and said "fine..they want to go? let them!" and ate his words when this happened overnight:


0304071873.source.prod_affiliate.56.JPG
 

jockinbox

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I was born in Cuba and travel occasionally, I am interested to see what kind of change this will bring.

I own 25% of a travel agency and I think this change will either destroy or grow the business exponentially. Many companies have stayed away from doing flights to Cuba because they have a $250 fee per head that enters the country. On top of that maintaining a Cuban passport is a mission, you must renew every 2 years and get a completely new one every 6. There is also a fee for any electric item entered into the country (up to 250 for a smartphone and 450 for a TV) plus quantity limitations (6 shirts/shoes for example)

The Cuban government makes MOST (circa 80-90%) of its income via tourism in some way. So if they decide to remove all these ridiculous limitations where will their income come from? Credit or Investors

Unfortunately Cuba is infamous for borrowing and not paying back so that leaves investors. I can honestly say if anyone does invest it will be a very long time before they start to are returns. The country is in a very bad situation & the people are extremely lazy due to the gov feeding and housing them. They also get by stealing luggage from tourist.

Importing. Needless to say I have tried exporting items from Cuba particularly Cigars & rum. Now unless you have friends in customs don't try this. Cigars sell them locally, I tried selling them on eBay hoping they would sell for big bucks and eBay proceeded to immediately knocking down my ad LOL not sure what kind of market there is for cigars if there were no trade restrictions. We also have to consider the "prohibit" factor..do we think of Cuban cigars as good because they are hard to get or because they are actually good? I believe the former

As far as rum, Havana Club used to be made in Cuba pre-Castro & quickly became the most popular rum in the world. However when Castro came in power the owners fled to central and south America & started another rum company. That company today is called Bacardi & it is the most consumed rum in the world. If you ever find yourself in a situation with an old Cuban swearing by Havana Club over Bacardi please notify him of the ignorance. Although they have made some improvements to the drink it is essentially the same.

There are some good ways to make money if you are Cuban by exporting to Cuba, however if there are no trade restrictions I'm not sure how small biz will compete with Giants like Wal Mart.

Just some thoughts
 
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Durete

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I personally think that this is pure protection from another force which the USA doesn't want back in Cuba.

But at the same time this does open up opportunities for both americans and cubans alike.
 

Supercar

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When I saw this late last night I immediately thought OPPORTUNITY.

Cigars and rum are obvious choices but there are others. What are they?

What would Cubans want from America?
The Cubans definitely want all kinds of inexpensive consumer products. They do want new cars and consumer electronics, obviously, but they can't afford them. The department and grocery stores have empty shelves. Things like clothes, soap, razor blades, and childrens toys were the exchange currency just a few years ago.

Also, keep in mind that this is just the US that is finally warming up. The rest of the world hasn't had such hickups about dealing with Cuba. So, the problem is not the US but the Cuban government.

Vast fortunes were made quickly in Russia in the 90's because the government was weak or nonexistent there, the imports were unrestricted, and Russia had a lot of natural resources and other things to steal and sell. In contrast, none of this gold rush happened in China because the government put brakes to all of this. The Cuban government has seen all of this and my bet is that they are taking the Chinese road.
 
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Ajay2390

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This was expected to happen some day. I travelled Cuba this Summer for a month. A beautiful paradise to say the least. Personally, I wouldn't want investors to go crashing in the place. I feel the investors would win alot and the Cubans will feel robbed of their Home. That's my opinion. Of course, Cuba needs to be catching up with the world but as the saying goes, "if you build a fence too quickly, the faster it will be torn down".

There was a rumour I heard when I was there that KFC and McDonald's have already "saved" their space on the Malécon in Havana. I wouldn't put it past me. Another thing to think about is that "Advertising" is banned there. It makes life so peaceful and my mind so clear when I visit. Then you think of the Internet. They just recently (a couple years ago) introduced email to the public. Internet is very expensive over there. The average wage for a government worker is $15-30 per Month. Yes that is correct. But regardless of lack of money, they are the most Happiest people i have met ever! Fishing out there is brilliant. I don't know, I just have a feeling Cuba is going to get "robbed" by the outside investors. Bad thought I know. Somebody enlighten me please haha

Ps. I think the Goldmine would be in those Classic American Cars. I met one mechanic who had one classic car and was fitting a brand new Honda engine it in lol. That was cool!
 

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