The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup

392: Cuba: Inside the The Communist Kabuki Theatre – Mailyn Salabarria

Feb 4, 2026
Mailyn Salabarria, a Cuban-born entrepreneur and communicator who fled Cuba as an adult, shares firsthand accounts of life under Cuban communism. She discusses how the regime maintains power, Cuba’s global propaganda and security networks, whether Cuba could follow Venezuela’s path, and what rebuilding a post-communist Cuba would demand.
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ANECDOTE

Degree Helped Her Escape And Rebuild

  • Mailyn left Cuba 21 days after graduating law school because registering would have trapped her in the state system.
  • She retrained in communications after arriving in the U.S. and earned a master's at Florida International University.
INSIGHT

Venezuelan Change Sparked Cuban Hope

  • The fall of Maduro and recent U.S. action created renewed hope among Cuban exiles for tangible change in the region.
  • Mailyn described the emotional impact and why Cuban communities felt this was a pivotal moment.
ANECDOTE

Music Triggered Memories Of A Lost Cuba

  • Mailyn described hearing pre-1959 Cuban music at a jazz club and feeling connected to a lost past her parents remembered.
  • She stressed that by her birth Cuba was already a Soviet satellite and the pre-revolution culture lived only in family stories.
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