Related videos:
The Vice Premier and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba, Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, met in Madrid with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, in a meeting requested by the Cuban side to discuss the situation on the island.
"I met with Carlos Cuerpo, First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Industry, and Commerce of Spain, and with Chancellor José Manuel Albares. I expressed my gratitude for his country's position regarding the complex situation Cuba is facing due to the intensification of the U.S. blockade and the energy siege imposed on us," said Pérez-Oliva on X.
According to the official press release from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs published this Thursday, "the meeting addressed the critical situation in Cuba and the serious consequences for the citizens and the economy of the island."
The visit is part of a European tour by the Cuban official, which included a previous stop in Paris before arriving in the Spanish capital.
Pérez-Oliva Fraga's trip to Europe takes place at a time of intense pressure from Washington on Havana. On May 7, the U.S. Department of State sanctioned GAESA, the powerful Cuban military conglomerate, labeling it as the "core of Cuba's communist kleptocratic system," and also sanctioned its director, Ania Lastres Morera.
These sanctions directly impact the interests of Spanish companies. Seven hotel chains operate in Cuba with over 25,000 rooms, many of them linked to the Gaviota group, the tourism arm of GAESA.
Spain is one of Cuba's main trading and tourist partners in Europe, making Madrid a priority destination for the regime's economic diplomacy during a time of financial strain.
Pérez-Oliva Fraga was appointed as deputy prime minister by the Cuban Council of State through the , dated October 17, 2025, and published in the Official Gazette on November 27 of that year, at the suggestion of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, while also retaining the portfolio of Foreign Trade.
He is the great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro, son of the biologist Mirsa Fraga Castro and grandson of Angelita Castro. His family ties connect him directly to the historical elite of the Cuban regime.
This is the second high-level visit from the regime to Madrid in 2026. On February 16, Chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla met with Albares to discuss the Cuban crisis, the situation of Spanish companies on the island, and the preparations for the Ibero-American Summit scheduled in Madrid for November 4 and 5, 2026.
That visit was marked by the protest of exiled Cubans who confronted the chancellor on the streets of the Spanish capital.
Filed under: