CUBATEC was conceived by Kirk Reagan Menendez in 2000 while he served as Deputy Executive Director and Assistant General Counsel of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). He was inspired by CANF’s humanitarian pro-democracy project “Misión Marti” established to assist with the reconstruction of a post-Castro democratic society and empower the Cuban people to develop a civil society, build a free-market economy, and strengthen democratic values. “Misión Marti” prepared hundreds of Cuban Americans in the U.S. including a young Marco Rubio, today the U.S. Secretary of State, to help and empower the Cuban people during the reconstruction of a free and democratic Cuba.