Spain and the European Union contribute to financing and sustaining the Cuban regime economically through debt forgiveness, million-dollar cooperation, grants, and other mechanisms supported by public resources, according to a report by Foro Madrid that scrutinizes the flow of money to Havana.
The document, titled "Cuba: a criminal regime sustained from abroad", argues that part of the economic survival of the Cuban system relies on resources from overseas, specifically pointing to Spain and the institutions of the European Union.
According to Foro Madrid, an international alliance promoted by the Disenso Foundation, these links help to financially sustain the Cuban regime from abroad.
The Madrid Forum questions why, while Cuba is facing a deep economic and social crisis, European governments and institutions continue to channel millions into the island through cooperation, debt restructuring and forgiveness, public guarantees for business operations, and other financial instruments.
Nearly 2 billion euros in debt with Spain
One of the main arguments of the report revolves around the Cuban debt with Spain.
Foro Madrid recalls that, according to information revealed by the Spanish Government in a parliamentary response, Cuba had accumulated a debt of 1,970.66 million euros at the beginning of 2020, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total amount owed to Spain by Ibero-American countries.
The document also reviews several restructuring and forgiveness operations. According to the figures cited by the organization, in 2015, 201 million euros were restructured and 110.8 million were forgiven.
A year later, another operation reached around 2.242 billion euros in medium and long-term debt, of which 1.492 billion corresponded to overdue interest that would be forgiven, according to the report.
Foro Madrid also notes that in July 2025, a debt conversion program of up to 375 million euros was activated, previously agreed upon between Spain and Cuba and linked to investment projects on the island.
The organization interprets these operations not as mere accounting adjustments between states, but as mechanisms through which Spain ultimately absorbs part of the cost of Cuba's nonpayment and provides financial relief to Havana.
Public money and business with companies linked to GAESA
The report also directs its criticism towards business relationships.
The Cuban government's debt to Spanish companies is at least around 300 million euros.
A report from the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Havana estimated the officially recorded private debt at 255.9 million euros, although when adding retained dividends and other funds that cannot leave Cuba, the figure rose to around 330 million.
Foment del Treball had also reported over 350 million euros in unpaid debts to around 300 Spanish companies.
Foro Madrid particularly questions those investments where the Cuban counterpart is linked to the Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a conglomerate controlled by the Cuban Armed Forces.
The document states that there are Spanish companies connected with entities within the GAESA framework and questions whether certain operations have received support through Spanish public mechanisms.
That point is central to the complaint from Foro Madrid: the organization argues that external funding for Cuba is not limited to cooperation programs, but also includes financial structures aimed at reducing the risks of certain business operations with entities linked to the Cuban state.
The European Union funds dozens of projects in Cuba
The criticism also extends to Brussels. Foro Madrid scrutinizes the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and the European Union and argues that this framework has allowed European funding to continue flowing to the island without the political transformations that the organization demands.
The report indicates that in 2025, there were 80 ongoing projects funded by the European Union with a total value of 155 million euros.
Foro Madrid also reminds that the agreement between Brussels and Havana contains provisions related to human rights and states that several resolutions from the European Parliament have called for the use of the mechanisms provided in cases of non-compliance attributed to the Cuban government.
The organization also questions the way these funds are channeled and argues that the existing cooperation structure allows Cuban state institutions to participate in or benefit from projects developed on the island.
For this reason, Foro Madrid demands that aid intended for Cubans be directed, whenever possible, through independent organizations from the State and not through structures controlled by Havana.
Other reports have focused on the cost to Spain
Criticism regarding the Spanish money allocated directly or indirectly to Cuba is not new. In July, another report estimated that the cost to Spain of successive debt cancellations and restructurings for Cuba was €4.994 billion over the span of approximately three decades.
That figure corresponds to a different study and should not be confused with the calculations included in the Foro Madrid document, although both analyses agree on questioning the cost that the financial relationship with Havana has had for Spanish accounts.
Spain also plays an important role as the European interlocutor for the Cuban government. In February, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez traveled to Madrid to meet with the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, in a meeting requested by the Cuban side.
For Foro Madrid, the issue goes beyond diplomatic relations. Its thesis is that Spain and the European Union continue to provide financial resources, debt relief, cooperation, and economic support that ultimately reduce the pressure on a system unable to generate the necessary resources for its own sustainability.
The report calls for a review of these policies and questions why funds from European taxpayers continue to finance projects related to Cuba while the population is facing shortages, power outages, inflation, and a decline in basic services.
The conclusion of the document is clear: Foro Madrid does not present these relationships as mere ties of cooperation or trade, but as part of a network of foreign funding and subsidies that, in its view, helps to financially sustain the Cuban regime.
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