Already in 2021, the Spanish Government had authorized the export of anti-riot material to Cuba.
MIAMI, United States. – Spain registered ammunition exports to Cuba this year, according to information from OKDIARIO based on official records and sources from the Ministry of Defense. This media specifies that in July “24 tons of ‘ammunition’ worth 81,600 euros” were sent and attributes the authorization to the Spanish Government, although – as the regulations dictate – the operation is carried out by a licensed private company, not the State.
CubaNet verified on the official portal DataComex (foreign trade statistics of goods from Spain and the European Union) that so far in 2025 Spain has registered exports to Cuba for 81,600 euros and 24,000 kilos in the section of “Arms and ammunition; accessories”, and also for 30,562 euros and 1,030 kilos in the “Gunpowder and explosives” section.
The Defense sources cited by OKDIARIO They explained the usual administrative procedure: “The export is carried out by a company that requests a license, which can be addressed, depending on the type of operation (amount and sensitivity), to the Secretary of State or the Council of Ministers.”
The same sources added that “Defense, in general, only acts as a provider for transfers of stocks between allies” and that “it is always preferable for companies to do it, for reasons of legal personality and appeal.”
It’s not the first time
There are official precedents for Spanish authorizations of “other material” destined for Cuba. A report from the Spanish newspaper The Country —based on the semi-annual report sent by the Secretary of State for Commerce to Congress— detailed in December 2021: “The Government authorized the export of anti-riot material to Cuba for 350,000 euros in the first half of this year, before the violent repression of the mobilizations last July.”
The article itself frames the operation in the category of “police/riot equipment”, which Spanish regulations consider as “other material” subject to licensing.
In terms of control, the most recent public position of the Executive on the Middle East is also relevant to understand the regulatory context: The Country reported last March that, since October 7, 2023, “no new definitive export operation of defense material had been authorized.” [español] bound for Israel.”
What “Chapter 93” includes and why it matters
Chapter 93 of the tariff (TARIC/SA) It groups weapons, ammunition and their parts and accessories, and includes everything from weapons of war to “cartridges (…) and other ammunition and projectiles.” In practice, this chapter can range from hunting/sports ammunition to ammunition for military use.
For Cuba, the relevance of the discovery in DataComex It is twofold: first, it indicates that there are official records of shipments in 2025 for both chapter 93 (arms and ammunition; accessories) and chapter 36 (gunpowder, explosives and related articles). Second, that chapter 93 totals 24 tons and 81,600 euros destined for the Island, a magnitude that coincides with the figure disclosed by OKDIARIO for July.
