The leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated this Monday that Spain has a "special affection" for Cuba and that, if he reaches the presidency of the Government, he will work alongside the United States to ensure that "prosperity and freedom reach Cuba."
The statements were made in an interview published by OkDiario, in response to a question about whether his second trip as head of government would be to Washington, as he specified that the first would be to Morocco.
"Well, I don't know, but the United States is a country with which Spain has historical relations, and now it has two additional reasons: Venezuela and Cuba," he indicated.
Next, the president of the PP directly pointed to the government of Pedro Sánchez as responsible for the deterioration of Spain's international image concerning both countries.
“Spain owes a debt to Venezuela and Cuba due to Sánchez's foreign policy over the past few years of supporting the dictatorships of Chávez and Maduro,” he asserted, without mentioning the Cuban dictators and referring only to those of Venezuela.
"Spain has a special affection for Cuba. And, together with the U.S., it must ensure that prosperity and freedom reach Cuba out of respect for the Cuban people," he concluded.
Under socialist management, Spain approved a new restructuring of Cuban debt in October 2025 for 193.4 million euros, reactivated a debt conversion program of up to 375 million euros, and opened a new consulate in Camagüey.
In May 2026, the Supreme Court required the Ministry of Economy to disclose the details of those agreements, after voiding the confidentiality declaration that protected them.
Alignment with Washington
Feijóo's stance on Cuba is part of a broader strategy aimed at engaging with the U.S. administration.
In February of this year, Feijóo spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and promised that Spain would be "a reliable partner for our allies," describing the exchange as "a fruitful conversation."
The statements made this Monday reinforce that line: Feijóo aims to position Spain as an active player in support of the democratic transition on the island, rather than a mediator that facilitates financial agreements with the regime.
The PP has also requested that Spain promote in the European Union the suspension of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba.
A shift regarding his Galician period
The current position contrasts with the one Feijóo held during his years at the helm of the Xunta de Galicia.
In May 2016, he visited Havana for the second time to preside over the XI Council of Galician Communities Abroad, where he celebrated the "indestructible" ties between Galicia and Cuba and met with the then-Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.
In that speech, he evoked the relationship between Manuel Fraga and Fidel Castro — "a Galician from Manatí and another from Láncara" — as a symbol of Galicia's role as a "linking point" with the Island.
So, about 30,000 Galicians were registered in Cuba according to data from the Xunta.
The tone was one of cooperation and rapprochement, very different from the democratic demands that have characterized his speech since he took over the presidency of the PP in 2022.
Morocco first, Washington on the horizon
In the same interview, Feijóo confirmed that his first trip as president would be to Morocco, reviving a tradition started by Felipe González and followed by Aznar, Zapatero, and Rajoy, which Sánchez broke in 2018 by traveling first to Paris.
Regarding Venezuela, Feijóo had already taken a position in January 2026, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, by declaring that "the future is not Delcy" and supporting Edmundo González and María Corina Machado as key figures in the democratic transition in that country.
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