A Cuban resident in Spain for 14 years shared this Tuesday on TikTok what Cubans living in the United States envy: the geographical proximity to Cuba, which allows them to visit their families over a weekend.
Sulay, the creator of the video, recounts that she returned to Cuba just under two months ago — her first trip in eight years — to see her grandparents, especially a grandmother who is "quite delicate health-wise" and who, after her visit, experienced a setback.
"One of the few things I envy about Cubans in the United States is their proximity to Cuba. Those people I hear about who leave on Friday morning and come back on Sunday night," he says in the video.
The distance between Madrid and Havana is approximately 7,118 km, with flights taking between nine and ten hours, which necessitates dedicating at least a full week for the trip to be worthwhile.
In contrast, Miami is just 375 km from Havana, with flights taking approximately one hour.
"If I were that close, I would love to go and spend the weekend with my grandmother. To be able to kiss her, to embrace her, to talk with her, and then simply return on Sunday afternoon," laments Sulay.
The situation is worsening due to the air connectivity crisis between Spain and Cuba. Effective this Tuesday, the cancellation of the only weekly flight by Cubana de Aviación between Cuba and Spain came into effect, following the withdrawal of the operator Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, which cited risks arising from the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on May 1, 2026.
Iberia, for its part, announced in April the cancellation of its direct flights from Madrid to Havana starting in June, operating only two weekly flights in May.
In total, eleven airlines have suspended flights to Cuba in 2026, with over 1,700 flights canceled, leaving only eight operational companies and affecting more than 15,000 Cubans living abroad who have stopped traveling to the island.
Sulay describes it accurately: "With all the issues surrounding fuel and everything... We know that there are certain airlines that have reduced trips to Cuba. Instead of flying twice a week, they now only fly once. So, you definitely need a whole week to be able to go to Cuba."
The author herself acknowledges that the advantage of Cubans in the U.S. is not absolute: "Right now, I don't know how the situation is in the United States. I think it's quite delicate too with the issue of Trump and all these measures he's taking."
Indeed, Trump signed a presidential proclamation in June 2025 that imposes travel restrictions on Cuban citizens, suspending tourist, business, and student visas, which were expanded in December 2025 to include 20 more countries.
The Cuban community in Spain is one of the largest in Europe: by the end of 2025, there were 287,490 people born in Cuba registered in the country, according to the National Institute of Statistics, with over 35,200 arrivals in that year alone.
Many of these emigrants share Sulay's frustration: the combination of distance, economic cost, and the deterioration of air connectivity makes visiting family in Cuba a considerable logistical effort, very different from the relative ease that Cubans in Florida have historically experienced.
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