Spain allocates an average of 270 euros per month for each employee hired through the Cuban state company Grupo Palco for its General Consulate in Havana. However, the employees are assigned salaries ranging from 3,630 to 3,870 Cuban pesos per month, according to official documents that highlight the significant disparity between the Spanish budget and the salaries agreed upon in Cuba.
The contract published on the Spanish Public Sector Procurement Platform, corresponding to the file 2024SWs00114, includes an amount of 1,131,295.68 euros for four years, from January 2025 to December 2028.
By dividing that budget over the 48 months of validity and the 87 workers included in the contract, the result is approximately 271 euros per month per employee. This is an average of the total budget, not an individual rate established for each worker.
The annexes of the agreement, signed on January 1, 2025, reveal how much Palco bills for its services and what salary is set for those who provide them.
For an office assistant, the state-owned company bills 5,822.47 Cuban pesos per month, while the worker has agreed to a salary of just 3,706.69 pesos.
In the case of general service assistants, Palco charges around 5,702 pesos and sets salaries close to 3,630 pesos. For drivers, the service cost amounts to 6,079.47 pesos, with an agreed salary of 3,870.06 pesos.
In the three categories, the difference between the billed amount and the salary is around 36%, although the documents do not specify what portion of that amount corresponds to other labor costs or company income.
The agreement establishes that workers maintain their employment relationship with Palco, while the Spanish Consulate manages and oversees their activities. The state-owned company also retains the authority to accept or reject personnel proposed to provide services.
This system responds to the , which requires foreign representations in Cuba to hire local workers through authorized state entities, instead of establishing a direct employment relationship with them.
The mechanism bears similarities to that used by the Cuban regime in its international medical missions, where the State receives income for the professional services provided abroad while workers only receive a portion of those resources.
Spain defends the contract while the PP questions access to sensitive data
The contracting with Palco has also raised political questions in Spain.
In a parliamentary initiative presented on July 9, 2026, members of the Popular Party (PP) requested clarifications regarding the roles of the personnel supplied by the Cuban company, particularly in the processing of applications for Spanish nationality under the Law of Democratic Memory, known as the "Grandchildren's Law."
The parliamentarians asked whether those workers had access to birth certificates, family information, nationality records, and the computer systems of the Consulate. They also requested clarification regarding any possible connections between Palco and GAESA, the business conglomerate linked to the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
For its part, the Spanish government acknowledged, in a parliamentary response dated September 23, 2026, that the Consulate has a contract with Palco, and explained that Cuban legislation requires hiring local staff through a state-owned company.
According to the Spanish government, this system has been in use since 2017, and the supplied employees perform administrative, technical, and auxiliary functions under the supervision of Spanish officials.
It also assured that they do not participate in decisions regarding civil registry files, passports, or visas, and that their access to documentation and systems is subject to security and confidentiality controls.
The government response, however, does not provide a breakdown of the difference between service fees and the wages set for workers.
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