Assembly of the Cuban Resistance calls upon European democracies to end economic aid to Castro military dictatorship

The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC), one of the largest pro-democracy movements in the Western Hemisphere has sent a delegation of human rights defenders to Europe to call upon the EU and its member states to end economic subsidies to the Castro military dictatorship.

The delegation was sent to address the moral conflicts of the so-called Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (ADPC) between the European Union (EU) with the island regime, an international agreement which directs European funding to the Havana regime.

From 2023 to the present, countries like Sweden have led efforts to review the agreement out of concerns that money currently being used to fund an immoral regime committing human rights violations could be redirected for other means.

The ARC delegation, which is currently visiting with members of European Parliament in Brussels started its mission in Madrid where it met with Spanish senators.

The delegation included Union of Latin American Parties (ULPA) President Julián Obligio, ARC Secretary General Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, ADN Cuba/ADN América Editor-in-Chief Gelet Martínez Fragela and former Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis García 'Antúnez'.

“We are in Spain raising our voices for a free Cuba and to ask for the end of the European Community subsidy to the Castro dictatorship,” Dr. Gutiérrez-Boronat told ADN Cuba during a live interview from the Spanish capital city of Madrid.

For his part, Obiglio, told ADN Cuba that “the 31 parties of UPLA are completely aligned in defense of the Cuban cause, and we will continue working for the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance until we achieve a democratic transition."

'Antúnez' also added that “it is inconceivable that with more than a thousand political prisoners in Cuba, among them my brother Loreto Hernández, that Europe continues to finance the dictatorship and repression on the island.”

Martínez Fragela emphasized that “every euro that the Cuban regime receives from the European community is an open invitation to continue repression in Cuba and an economic incentive for the Castro elite not to abandon power.”

She added that, “The Cuban regime is a satellite of Russia and Iran that seeks to export its influence with the aim of undermining Western democracies. The destruction it has caused in Venezuela, along with its support for Vladimir Putin in its illegal invasion of Ukraine is evident, making it incomprehensible that international cooperation, especially Europe, continues to subsidize its own enemy.”

Spanish Sen. Juan José Matarí shared details of the meeting on his Instagram profile.

"Our commitment is to active and effective solidarity to advance a transition from dictatorship to democracy in Cuba," he declared.

The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and other allied organizations have been holding several meetings with leaders of European countries for more than a year to expose the repression on the island and ask for an end to aid to the Havana dictatorship.