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The Cuban regime has accumulated a debt of at least 300 million euros with Spanish companies operating on the island, due to acknowledged unpaid debts and funds that cannot be transferred abroad.
A report from the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Havana, cited by the newspaper El País, places the officially recorded private debt at 255.9 million euros.
However, the document itself warns that the actual amount is higher, as it does not include 39.5 million in retained dividends, 23.6 million from commercial operations, and 11.3 million deposited in accounts for specific assets, the funds of which also cannot leave the country.
In total, the amount reaches about 330 million euros when those concepts are added together. The survey was sent to 930 Spanish companies with interests in Cuba, but only 182 responded, which represents 19.5 percent of the total.
Of those who participated, 85 percent acknowledged carrying debts primarily incurred between 2017 and 2019.
Business sources indicated that about 20 percent of the affected firms are undergoing bankruptcy proceedings due to defaults. Catalonia, Madrid, and the Basque Country account for the majority of the impacted companies.
Medium-sized companies are among the hardest hit, with an average debt close to two million euros, while for microenterprises, the average is around 850,000 euros.
Additionally, 19 percent of the companies admitted that what is owed to them by the Cuban government exceeds their revenue from the last year.
In this regard, since 2025, the Catalan business organization Foment del Treball raised concerns about the growing debt that the Cuban government owed to around 300 Spanish companies, which at that time totaled over 350 million euros in arrears accumulated since 2018.
Representatives of the Platform of Affected Parties by the Unpaid Debts of the Cuban Government, part of the Catalan business association Foment del Treball, believe that the debt restructuring programs of the Spanish State could be a way to alleviate the situation for creditor companies, in a scenario where many are ruling out new investments on the island due to a lack of payment guarantees.
The impact of the economic crisis is also reflected in the tourism sector, where Spanish hotel chains and airlines have had to reorganize their operations due to low occupancy and fuel shortages, amid prolonged blackouts and structural liquidity problems faced by the Cuban state.
The subsistence economy in Cuba is putting "serious pressure" on Spanish companies, both large (such as airlines and hotel chains) and small and medium-sized enterprises, which have been forced to reduce or reformulate their operations on the Island, according to a report from EFE based on testimonies from investors with interests in the country.
Consulted businessmen describe a situation where working and getting paid is becoming increasingly difficult, especially after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. on January 3rd, an event that led to the end of oil exports from Venezuela to Cuba and increased pressure on other suppliers.
That same week, power outages were reported, leaving 64% of the island without electricity, along with fuel rationing and a local currency at historic lows, EFE adds.
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