Cuba to allow US-based nationals to invest amid pressure from Trump

Cuba plans to allow citizens living abroad, including in the US, to invest in the country, a senior official told NBC News, amid pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration.

"Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with US companies" and also with Cubans and their descendants residing in the US, Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga said in an interview in Havana.

"This extends beyond the commercial sphere," added Fraga, who is also Cuba's minister of foreign trade and investment. "It also applies to investments not only small investments, but also large investments, particularly in infrastructure."

Fraga said the policy would be announced Monday night.

The move marks a major shift from decades of a largely state-controlled economy, in which private businesses were tightly restricted until 2021.

It comes as Cuba struggles with a failing energy grid and protests, while US threats to impose tariffs on countries supplying oil have worsened fuel shortages.

Trump has said he believes he will have the "honor of taking Cuba," calling it a "failed nation."

He also said "something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly," and previously mentioned a possible "friendly takeover."

US sanctions still make it difficult for US nationals to invest or do business in Cuba without government approval and restrict transactions with companies linked to Cuba's military or intelligence services.