Cuba Ventures Corp (TSX-V:CUV) on Tuesday demonstrated that "business as usual" may be coming to Cuba as it appointed two advisers to its Cuba Investment Advisory Board, Alfredo Manresa Ruiz and Walfrido Sebastian Quiñones Bencomo.
Canada's Cuba Ventures, formerly MPH Ventures Corp before a change of name on March 21, made its announcement on the same day that US President Barack Obama made a historic visit to Havana. Obama is the first incumbent US head of state to visit the island state since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
Obama called for the US embargo against Cuba - installed in 1961 - to be lifted and for Cubans themselves to embrace change in his address from Havana.
Ruiz and Bencomo bring over 50 years of combined experience working in Cuba and will work with Cuba Ventures management to expand the company's current online travel and marketing business, Travelucion Media, as well as evaluate other business opportunities in Cuba.
Alfredo Manresa Ruiz is a Spanish national and banking professional who worked for Spain's CAM Bank (now Sabadell) between 1989 - 2012 and was the founding manager of CAM Bank in Havana.
Bencomo is a Cuban citizen and licenced Cuban attorney who graduated with honours from the University of Moscow, Russia.
Bencomo was the corporate legal counsel for Steve Marshall, President of Travelucion Media now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cuba Ventures, throughout Marshall's 11 years in Cuba. Together they obtained government approvals for businesses in Cuba, including joint production agreements, joint ventures and national representation of foreign entities. The commercial sectors in which they were involved included: real estate, hotel development, Cuba travel, parks and golf course projects, information technology, Havana Free Zone establishment and operations, import/export, among others.
Bencomo is a permanent resident of both Cuba and Mexico.