SPAIN: CUBA TRIP RESULTS NOT YET CLEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000629 SIPDIS SIPDIS EUR FOR KURT VOLKER WHA FOR KIRSTEN MADISON E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017 TAGS: PREL PHUM SP CU SUBJECT: SPAIN: CUBA TRIP RESULTS NOT YET CLEAR REF: A. MADRID 545 ¶B. MADRID 425 ¶C. MADRID 338 MADRID 00000629 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos said that his April 2-3 visit to Havana, during which he met with Raul Castro and other government leaders, has opened a new stage in Spain-Cuba relations. Moratinos had two principal objectives for the trip: re-engagement with the Cuban government after a lengthy break and the re-opening of the Spanish Cultural Center that Fidel Castro closed in 2003. While Spain and Cuba agreed to create a mechanism for ongoing political dialogue, there was no immediate deal to re-open the Cultural Center. In a clear victory for Cuba, Moratinos did not meet with dissidents while in Cuba, but lower level Foreign Ministry staff is expected to hold such meetings after his departure from the island. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Although Post will not be able to provide a full accounting of the trip until the Ambassador is able to sit down with Moratinos after the Easter holiday, it appears that the primary result of Moratinos' visit to Havana - the first by a Spanish FM since 1998 - was an agreement for a "political mechanism" in which human rights and other issues could be discussed. A kick-off meeting at the Director General-level would take place in early May to set an agenda for further discussions. Cuban FM Perez Roque said that he and Moratinos could meet again in Madrid in late 2007 or early 2008. In addition to these high-level political discussions, Cuba will allow Spain to act as a "privileged interlocutor" that, unlike the rest of its EU neighbors, could re-start development projects that Fidel stopped in 2003 in reaction to EU sanctions. This could possibly lead to the re-opening of Spain's Cultural Center, in the past a haven for the promotion of civil society. ¶3. (U) Initial press reaction in Madrid ranged from vaguely supportive to scathing. Under the headline "Spain returns to Cuba," left-of-center El Pais' editorial page notes the special historical relationship between Cuba and Spain and supports the idea of increased dialogue saying that Spain should not be absent from the island even under the present regime. Nonetheless, El Pais chastens Moratinos for failing to meet with dissidents and says that Spain shouldn't make concessions without getting something in exchange. Independent El Mundo reported on its front page that "Perez Roque said to the press 'the issue of political prisoners in Cuba is not on the agenda. These people are mercenaries financed by a foreign power to subvert internal order and commit acts of violence and terrorism. Here there is no one imprisoned for thinking differently.' Period. His words slammed the door shut suddenly. The promises of a few hours earlier were nothing." Conservative ABC said that the consequences of the trip are not yet known, but that "if the trip produces nothing more than rhetoric, it will have strengthened the image of the Cuban government." ¶4. (C) COMMENT. FM Moratinos has agreed to give the Ambassador a read out of the visit early next week - as soon as possible after the Easter holidays. Without having heard Moratinos' side of the story, our initial reaction is to highlight three outcomes. First, Moratinos did not see any dissidents, providing a victory for the Cuban regime. Second, Moratinos failed, at least in the short term, to secure the re-opening of its Cultural Center. Finally, Spain took a big step away from the EU on Cuba policy. There was no release of political prisoners associated with the visit, but we would expect Spain to claim credit if such a release happens at any time in the future. ¶5. (C) COMMENT (con't). Embassy Madrid, and perhaps others, need to stay fully engaged and in very close touch with Spain on this issue so that we can continue to press them as they take each new step with the Cubans. This trip looks to be the beginning of a process. We should also try to identify key EU leaders (possibly Germany, Portugal, Czechs or others) that would discourage Spain from trying to chart its own course on Cuba. Spain has long touted itself as the EU leader on Latin America policy, but it has now gotten far MADRID 00000629 002.2 OF 002 ahead of the pack, in fact breaking with its 26 partners in order to resume strong bilateral ties. Someone needs to remind Spain that it is not being a team player on this issue. And with as much speed as possible, it would be helpful to demarche the other 26 EU countries to let them know how the US sees the road ahead on US-EU cooperation on the goal of achieving democracy in Cuba. Although Spanish Foreign Ministry officials are vacationing this week, they will certainly be thinking about spreading their side of the story as fast as they can. We want to be sure that our case is readily available as well. Aguirre