Pedro A. Freyre was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 3, 1949. He came to the U.S. in October of 1960 together with his family. His father, Ernesto Freyre, was a leading Labor attorney in Cuba, representing major U.S. companies such as Hershey, Sears and Exxon. His brother, Ernesto Freyre, Jr. took park in the Bay of Pigs invasion and was captured and imprisoned. The Senior Freyre was the Secretary of the Family Committee, which secured the aid of the U.S. Government and after a difficult and protracted negotiation process secured the release of all the prisoners in exchange for $62M worth of medicines.
Pedro Freyre became involved in Cuba related matters in 1989 when he was a founding member of the Cuba Committee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, which monitors on-going political and economic developments in the island and briefs the South Florida Business Community on current or future prospects for trade, commerce and investment with the island. Mr. Freyre was also chairman of Facts About Cuban Exiles, a non-partisan, anti-defamation organization based in Miami, whose mission is to promote and protect the good image of Cuban Americans.
Mr. Freyre was General Counsel of Dow Latin America and COO of the Mapfre Insurance Group for Florida. Currently, he is a shareholder in the law firm of Akerman LLP, and Chairman of its International Practice. Akerman is a leading national law firm with over 600 attorneys and consultants. In the course of his private practice, Mr. Freyre has focused significant time and attention to Cuba related matters, and in particular, with Cuban embargo regulations. He advises U.S. companies on Cuba related matters and makes frequent trips to the island with his clients. He was written numerous Helms-Burton opinions for European entities considering investment in Cuba, and various memoranda in support of litigation in the European Union. Mr. Freyre has been involved with the Obama Administration giving input on the new policy of engagement. He was invited by the Administration to the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana and President Obama’s speech to the Cuban people.
Mr. Freyre is currently a Lecturer at Law at Columbia University School of Law where he teaches a seminar on Cuba. He is a contributing author in the International Transactions Volume published by the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Florida Bar. He is member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Cuba Business Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Freyre has lectured extensively on the topic and has appeared in national TV shows such as “Good Morning America,” “Nightline with Ted Koppel,” and “The Paula Zahn Show.” Mr. Freyre has also written articles on the subject of the Cuban embargo for The Huffington Post, the European Magazine, The Miami Herald, and the Sun-Sentinel, and has been quoted in The Economist, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. His article, Helms-Burton: The Dilemma of Hardwiring Policy, was published in the Trans National Law and Contemporary Problems Journal, in Vol. 14, No. 1, Spring 2004, the University of Iowa School of Law, as was another article he co-authored, “Cuban National Reconciliation: A Model for Healing the Cuban Nation” in Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2004 of the same publication.
Mr. Freyre graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory in Miami (1967) and obtained a B.A. in Latin American Studies magna cum laude (1971) and a JD (1975) from the University of Miami. Mr. Freyre is a past Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board and the recipient of the Ghandi-King-Ikeda Award for Community Relations. He is fluent in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.