MIAMI.- The conference “European Union-Cuba Relations: Is Spain where it is expected?”, held in Madrid, highlighted the critical situation in Cuba and the need for an urgent review of the relationship between the European Union (EU) and Cuba. the island regime.
Various human rights defenders and European parliamentarians, including Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Rosa María Payá, Leopoldo López Gil, Hermann Tertsch and José Ramón Bauzá, denounced the EU’s support for the Havana dictatorship and launched a call for action.
Gutiérrez-Boronat, coordinator of the Cuban Resistance Assembly (ARC), described the Cuban model as a “disastrous example of totalitarianism,” which uses impoverishment, low birth rates, prison and death to maintain control.
The exiled opposition leader carried out a historical review of the Cuban regime, delving into how agriculture was used in Cuba to control food and, therefore, the population.
Since 2022, the ARC has been promoting a campaign for the EU to cease any type of financing to the Cuban regime, accusing it of failing to comply with the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (ADPC) signed with the conglomerate of European nations in 2016.
According to the ARC, the Cuban regime has violated the clauses of the agreement signed with the EU, regarding human rights and respect for the rule of law.
More criticism of the regime
Meanwhile, Payá, founder of Cuba Decide, pointed out the “acts of state terrorism” against the Cuban people and emphasized the repression and lack of freedoms on the island.
The activist mentioned specific cases of human rights violations, such as the isolation of opponent José Daniel Ferrer.
López Gil, a Venezuelan European parliamentarian, criticized the complicity of those who participate in tourism in Cuba without recognizing the oppressive reality of the regime.
Likewise, he questioned the transparency of the use of the more than 150 projects financed by the EU on the island and called on European citizens to demand accountability.
Tertsch, a European parliamentarian from the ECR group, described as “scandalous” the support of some European politicians for the Cuban regime, describing the dictatorship’s relationship with the Sao Paulo Forum and the communist parties as complicity with the “worst criminal forces.”
He also disapproved of the position of some European governments, including that of Spain, for their support for the regime.
Role of Spain and Europe
Additionally, Bauzá, MEP from the Renew Europe group, questioned the position of the Spanish government, which he considers “the opposite of what was expected” in terms of condemnation of the Cuban regime.
The parliamentarian advocated the cancellation of the association agreement between the EU and Cuba and highlighted the need for a firm and determined stance on the part of European politicians to denounce the actions of the Cuban regime and its links with Russia.
The conference organized by the CEU Institute of American Studies, the Spanish Association Cuba in Transition and Cuba Decide became a call to action for the international community, emphasizing the ethical and moral importance of denouncing the abuses of the Cuban regime and demanding transparency in the use of funds allocated to the island.
