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The Supreme Court of Spain has ordered the Ministry of Economy to disclose the specific details of how the country has implemented the agreements for the restructuring and forgiveness of debt with Cuba and Venezuela, in a ruling that overturns the resolution declaring that information as secret, which was published last Sunday.
The Third Section of the Administrative Litigation Chamber partially upheld the appeal for cassation filed by the Council of Transparency and Good Governance, annulling the ruling of the National Court that had supported the Ministry's refusal to provide that information, reported the Spanish media okdiario.
As of December 31, 2020, Spain held credits against Cuba amounting to 1,937.55 million euros and against Venezuela amounting to 213.37 million, figures acknowledged by the Ministry of Economic Affairs itself.
The case originated in July 2021, when the expert Guillermo Rocafort requested, under the Transparency Law, detailed information about the forgiveness and restructuring of that debt, including administrative files, details of write-offs and extensions of deadlines, and minutes of meetings with authorities from both countries.
The Ministry rejected the application on September 30, 2021, claiming that its disclosure would harm Spain's foreign relations.
The person who signed that denial resolution was Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, who was then the Secretary General of the Treasury and International Financing, and is currently the First Vice President of the Government since March 27, 2026, as well as the head of the Ministry of Economy.
The high court has established a doctrine that distinguishes between two levels: it acknowledges that the secret of the Paris Club "justifies denying access to the content of the session minutes," given that this forum is "governed by the principle of confidentiality, which binds Spain as a member of the Club."
But it adds a clear limit: "The exception cannot extend to the information regarding the specific and concrete application that Spain has made of the debt treatment conditions."
In other words, what Spain has charged, forgiven, or postponed in practice cannot be sheltered under secrecy without an explicit and well-founded justification.
The Supreme Court also emphasizes that the Law on Foreign Action, the Law on External Debt Management, and the Law on Cooperation for Development enshrine transparency as a guiding principle, and that the Government is legally required to report annually to Congress on the agreements signed in the Paris Club.
The history of agreements with the Cuban dictatorship is extensive. In December 2015, Spain signed a relief agreement with the Paris Club, which involved a restructuring with a debt reduction. In May 2016, Spain and Cuba agreed to restructure a debt of 2.444 billion euros, which had not been paid at all, with the repayment of the principal scheduled over 18 years and the cancellation of 1.492.3 million in late payment interest.
In October 2025, the Council of Ministers approved a new restructuring of Cuban debt amounting to 193.4 million euros, and this month Spain allocated 500,000 euros from the debt conversion fund to purchase food for Cuba, in an unprecedented humanitarian exception that caused discontent among the approximately 200 Spanish companies that have accumulated 316 million euros in unpaid debts from the Cuban regime.
With the Supreme Court ruling, the Ministry of Economy must provide the applicant with the details of all the measures implemented by Spain regarding Cuba and Venezuela, although it is not required to include the minutes from the Paris Club where those agreements were negotiated.
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