Cuba’s Kleptocracy: How It Works and Why It Matters for US Policy

May 2025

Past Event

Cuba’s Kleptocracy: How It Works and Why It Matters for US Policy

Past Event

Hudson Institute

May 01, 2025

May 2025

Past Event

Speakers:

John Suarez

Executive Director, Center for a Free Cuba

Nora Gámez Torres

Reporter, el Nuevo Herald and the Miami Herald

Moderator:

Listen to Event Audio

Despite economic reforms and anti-corruption initiatives pursued by Fidel Castro’s successors, the kleptocracy established in the country’s 1959 communist revolution persists. Front companies controlled by the military and security services continue to dominate the Cuban economy. Although the regime blames US sanctions for the island’s ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis, recent reporting suggests that these regime-connected entities have illicitly hoarded billions of dollars.

While the secretive nature of Cuba’s regime means that the inner workings of its kleptocracy are not widely understood, the costs of corruption are fully apparent to Cuba’s population. Nationwide protests in recent years suggest that the regime’s kleptocracy, once a tool for entrenching its power, now undermines its legitimacy and has become a major vulnerability.

As the Trump administration indicates a “tough” new approach toward Havana, join Hudson for an expert discussion on how kleptocracy operates in Cuba and its implications for American policy.

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

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Featured Speakers:

Marcela Prieto Botero

Evan Ellis

Sergio Guzmán

Antonio Garrastazu

Daniel Batlle

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In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Colombia Recalibrates: Security, Stability, and the US Alliance

Join Hudson Institute for a panel that will examine how far de la Espriella can advance economic and security reforms without a legislative majority and how his approach will shape Colombia’s relations with the United States.

Featured Speakers:

Marcela Prieto Botero

Evan Ellis

Sergio Guzmán

Antonio Garrastazu

Daniel Batlle

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In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Tablet Magazine’s What Really Matters: A Live Episode at Hudson Institute

Featured Speakers:

Walter Russell Mead

Jeremy Stern

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Tablet Magazine’s What Really Matters: A Live Episode at Hudson Institute

Join Hudson Institute and Tablet Magazine for an exclusive live recording of What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead. Mead, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship, and his cohost Jeremy Stern, editor in chief of Colossus, will bring their wide-ranging perspectives to help make sense of the news and understand the most consequential developments in American politics and world affairs.

Featured Speakers:

Walter Russell Mead

Jeremy Stern

Learn More

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In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Inertial Confinement Fusion Bolsters Strategic Deterrence

Featured Speakers:

Mark Herrmann

Keith LeChien

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs

Madelyn Creedon

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In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Inertial Confinement Fusion Bolsters Strategic Deterrence

Join Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative for a discussion of Inertial Confinement Fusion Is Key to America’s Nuclear Deterrent, a new memo authored by Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs and Former Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Madelyn Creedon.