Spanish MEP Jordi Cañas: "A dictatorial regime cannot propose terrorists"

Spanish MEP Jordi Cañas, vice president of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat), assured CiberCuba that "a dictatorial regime cannot propose terrorists," in reference to the National Terrorist List, in which Havana included at the end of last year Well-known influencers and communicators residing in the United States and opposed to the Government of Miguel Díaz-Canel.

In an interview granted from the European Parliament, the representative of Ciudadanos (Liberals) assured that no one in the European Parliament has taken the Cuban regime's list of terrorists seriously. He also defended that relations between Europe and Cuba "are getting worse."

CiberCuba: What assessment do you make of the relations between the European Union and Cuba in these five years of legislature?

Jordi Cañas: Well, what balance do I make between the relations of Europe and the Cuban regime, which are different things. With Cuba, with the citizens of Cuba, we have great, formidable things. This Parliament has become a sounding board for the need for democracy to return to Cuba and a sounding board that denounces the violation of human rights; a sounding board that continues to demand the release of political prisoners; a sounding board that is next to Cuban citizens and their rights. But in terms of relations with the Cuban regime, we have to recognize that they are getting worse because what the Cuban regime is doing is going backwards, going backwards in respect for human rights. Instead of gradually recognizing that we must move towards democracy, it is doing just the opposite.

The European Parliament, which is at the service of the citizens of Cuba and their freedom, what it does is express this and this has earned greater hostility from the regime, preventing missions from the European Parliament to the Island. In short, relations They are getting worse because the European Parliament is on the side of the Cubans and the regime does not like that. They do not like the resolutions in which we denounce violence, arbitrariness, the violation of Human Rights, that we denounce that the situation is getting worse by the moment, due to the economic deprivations and freedom that Cubans suffer... We are denouncing the slavery that many of them suffer... That is, the regime does not like us to tell the truth and what it does is worsen relations with the European Parliament. But as I said, our objective is not the Cuban Government, which is the dictatorship, but to try to respond to what Cubans expect from this Parliament, which is that we be at their side.

Mr. Cañas, there are many of us Cubans who have the feeling, perhaps unfairly, of a kind of laxity on the part of the European Union with respect to Cuba. Those of us who live in Europe know how severe the European Union is when it comes to controlling subsidies. However, we know that European aid reaches organizations related to the Cuban Communist Party.

Look, we always talk about Europe, but there is the Commission, which is the Government; the Council, which are the States, and the Parliament. Parliament has a very clear attitude, which is what it has expressed through its resolutions and that attitude, as I told you, is clear and forceful in defense of the freedoms and rights of Cuban citizens. We are at your side.

The Council is made up of the States and there, as you know, each State has interests. For example, Spain, led by Pedro Sánchez, has taken a very lax attitude in the last six years. It's true. And the Commission, through the mouth of its high representative, said that the European Union has neither the capacity nor the will to propose changes on the Island. Parliament obviously does not support this. But, unfortunately, deep down, Parliament has the capacity it has: it has the capacity to denounce, but in the end, those who decide the policies on the Island are the Council and the Commission, through its high representative (Josep Borrell), what in the visit he made to the Island in May of last yearInstead of defending what Parliament demanded, it was trying to maintain a thread of work and cooperation with a regime that is directly violating the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement it has with the European Union. Parliament has demanded on several occasions that the Human Rights clause be applied. We cannot continue supporting, we cannot continue sending money or subsidies or aid to a regime that is violating the agreement it has with the European Union and we are in Parliament demanding that this be corrected, but unfortunately neither the States nor the Commission have been up to what Parliament demands.

Last year the Cuban regime published a National Terrorism List, which included opponents, communicators, and influencers. Can a country included on the United States list of countries sponsoring terrorism have its own terrorist list. What controls does the European Union apply to those who have been included on that list? Does the EU listen to you?

Obviously not. The terrorist list is decided by the European Union and the terrorist list is decided by the United States. It is evident that a dictatorial regime cannot propose terrorists and even less so when these alleged terrorists are defenders of Human Rights, democracy and people who are only asking for a better future for the Island and for Cuban citizens.

What is evident is that this sends a message: it places those who oppose the regime as terrorists. It is a very direct message so that no one does it; so that they know what consequences it can have, in addition to that arbitrariness and arbitrary arrests, political persecution... They label you a terrorist only for defending freedom for your country. That has an internal reading, but it is evident that no one in the European Union has thought of it, nor is it going to happen, nor will it occur to incorporate any of those on the list of terrorists of the Cuban Government to the list of terrorists. .

Do you know what's happening? In Europe we hunt down the real terrorists. I think there may be some, but in the Cuban Government.

One last question. Will you defend the rights and interests of the millions of Cubans who are outside the Island if you repeat in the European Parliament?

It's not just that we are going to defend them. We have defended them for ten years and we are going to continue doing so for five more. We will continue to do so here in the European Parliament and outside. We will continue doing them wherever we have the capacity for political influence, although the cause of Cuba is a cause of freedom that is ours; of the Ciudadanos deputies and I believe that of the majority of the Spanish people. We Spanish deputies will always continue to defend the freedom, prosperity, future and dignity of Cubans and I am convinced that sooner rather than later we will see freedom return to Cuba.