Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09HAVANA47
2009-01-23 17:28:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Interests Section Havana
Cable title:  

150,000 CUBANS TO OBTAIN SPANISH CITIZENSHIP UNDER

Tags:  SMIG SCUL CVIS PGOV CU SP 
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VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUB #0047/01 0231728
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 231728Z JAN 09
FM USINT HAVANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4062
INFO RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES IMMEDIATE 0021
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 0148
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO IMMEDIATE 0563
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000047 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019
TAGS: SMIG SCUL CVIS PGOV CU SP
SUBJECT: 150,000 CUBANS TO OBTAIN SPANISH CITIZENSHIP UNDER
NEW LAW

Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000047

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019
TAGS: SMIG SCUL CVIS PGOV CU SP
SUBJECT: 150,000 CUBANS TO OBTAIN SPANISH CITIZENSHIP UNDER
NEW LAW

Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) About 150,000 Cubans will acquire Spanish citizenship
in the next three years under the recently-implemented "Law
of Historical Memory", according to Spain's senior consular
official in Cuba. Consul General Pablo Barrios told USINT CG
last week that the law, which took effect December 29, will
grant Spanish citizenship to 50,000 Cubans in each of the two
years during which it is in effect. He said that he fully
expects it will be necessary to extend the application period
for the additional year contemplated in the law in order to
address demand, with another 50,000 Cubans receiving
citizenship during the third year.


2. (U) Spain's Law of Historical Memory grants citizenship to
anyone whose father or mother were Spanish citizens and to
grandchildren of those who lost or were forced to renounce
their Spanish citizenship as a consequence of exile during
the Spanish civil war and subsequent Francoist repression (as
a result of this second disposition, the law is widely known
in Cuba as "the law of the grandchildren"). Children 18 and
under of persons who qualify for citizenship under this
program will likewise be granted citizenship and are included
in the estimate of total beneficiaries.


3. (U) Barrios said that only Argentina is expected to
produce more new Spanish citizens through this program than
Cuba. Tens of thousands of Cubans have lined up outside the
Spanish Embassy in Havana to pick-up applications forms and
informational materials about the program since December 29.
Actual appointments to apply for citizenship must be made on
the internet directly to the Spanish Consulate. Barrios
commented that Cuban "inventiveness" has resulted in an
avalanche of appointment requests, despite extremely low
internet penetration in Cuba. In all, some 300,000 Cubans are
expected to apply.


4. (U) Barrios disputed what is already the conventional
wisdom in Cuba, namely, that most applying for Spanish
citizenship actually want to facilitate an eventual entry to
the United States. He said the average age of successful
applicants will be between 40 and 50 and most will be
reluctant to start their lives over from scratch in either
Spain or the United States. He felt most applicants simply
want to facilitate temporary travel or are under the
impression - mistaken in the vast majority of cases - that
citizenship will entitle them to some form of financial
assistance from the Spanish government.


5. (C) Barrios said that he received a "correct, but cool"
reception when he personally briefed Carlos Zamora, the Cuban
Foreign Ministry's Director General for Consular Affairs, on
the program. According to Barrios, Zamora's only substantive
reaction was to remind him that Cuba does not recognize dual
citizenship and to make clear that any Cuban who acquires
Spanish citizenship under this law will remain subject to
Cuban entry and exit requirements. Barrios commented that he
concludes from this that, for example, newly-minted Spanish
citizens will still need an invitation letter from someone in
Spain, duly notarized by the Cuban Consulate in Madrid, in
order to visit Spain.


6. (C) COMMENT. A significant, if unquantifiable, percentage
of those applying for Spanish citizenship under the Law of
Historical Memory clearly intend to emigrate from Cuba, or at
a minimum, to facilitate their children's emigration.
Equally clearly, some hope to end up in the United States; in
the past three weeks, USINT has received numerous inquiries
about the Visa Waiver Program from persons identifying
themselves as applicants for Spanish citizenship. The Cuban
government is extremely sensitive about any public
manifestation of a desire to leave the island, and the local
media has been silent about the Spanish program. One effect
of the law will be to highlight the burdensomeness of Cuba's
entry and exit requirements for its citizens. For example, it
is entirely possible that many of those acquiring Spanish
citizenship will not have anyone in Spain - or anywhere else
outside of Cuba - qualified to invite them to visit, which is
a requirement under Cuban law in order to obtain an exit
permit. The absurdity of this situation could generate
additional pressure for reform in Cuban travel regulations.
END COMMENT.




FARRAR