Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez underscored in a recent interview with Spanish digital media outlet elDiario.es that the Spanish chains operating in Cuba "are leaving against their will."

In an extensive dialogue, the Cuban leader acknowledged the legacy of those companies, highlighted new business models, and denounced the impact of the United States blockade as the fundamental cause of these disruptions.

Díaz-Canel expressed respectful recognition toward the Spanish hotel chains and other companies that for decades bet on Cuba as a destination. "They have worked side by side with our tourism entities; they are businesspeople for whom we have great respect because of the support they have always provided," the president stated.

He then highlighted the value of the knowledge transferred. "In the same way they have been able to develop their businesses in Cuba, they have also brought learning to the Cuban sides of tourism. And that is why we have a hotel plant, based on the investments the country made, which today can be used, for example, through assets to compensate debt or do business. But on the other hand, there is learning, professional training for our people," he detailed.

The head of state described as "stubbornness" the way in which the current U.S. administration tries to halt Cuba's tourism development, a source of revenue for the country's economy.

Faced with this scenario, the president referred to transformations in the tourism management model. "There will be hotels that we will have to operate, and we are proposing different business models, with Cubans who want to invest in and manage hotels. We are open to that, and also to people from other countries or entities that have no accounts in the U.S. nor dependence on the U.S., and that are willing to work with Cuba."

Díaz-Canel commented that this possibility has already been offered to Cubans residing abroad. "I am sure that many will return to Cuba to continue doing business."

He also recalled that "from the first measures of the first Trump administration, it was stipulated that if a European visited Cuba, their ESTA [visa waiver program] would automatically be revoked. They do that to no one else in the world. These are measures designed only for Cuba, to suffocate us, to asphyxiate us. That is why I speak to you about the cruelty of this blockade, both for its intensity and for its prolonged permanence over time."

In that sense, he called on Spain and the European Union to consider how Washington's policy also harms their own citizens and businesses. "I believe that now the European Union and Spain must also understand that the blockade not only affects Cuba, but is also affecting Spanish citizens, European citizens, businesspeople, and European and Spanish entities."

"They cannot allow extraterritorial laws to be imposed on them from another country, contrary to the very principles contained in the European constitutions and the Spanish Constitution," he asserted.

As an example, he mentioned banking obstacles: "Spanish banks and European banks cannot have relations with Cuba. Today, it is harder for a Spanish tourist to reach Cuba, and European or Spanish investors face coercive obstacles and pressure."

At this point, he assured that Spain is today one of the most important countries in commercial relations with Cuba. "We are united by traditions, history, and family ties. The Spanish government has been very respectful toward Cuba, and the European Union, for the most part, has always supported the Cuban resolution at the United Nations against the blockade."

Díaz-Canel reaffirmed the excellent working relationship with the European bloc, based on a political dialogue and cooperation agreement "that works," he assured. The president thanked several European countries, including Spain, for financing development and cooperation projects on the island.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff