Cuban Tourism Minister Juan Carlos García Granda has praised the courage of Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of the Spanish hotel company Meliá, and Miguel Fluxá, president of the Iberostar group, for facing US sanctions by continuing their business in Cuba.
The official spoke with the Mallorca newspaper during a visit to London on the occasion of the World Travel Market tourism fair, where he went to promote the Island as a safe country and even as a destination to be cured of covid-19.
“Miguel Fluxá or the Escarrers show courage. They and their employees are sanctioned by a cruel and unjust blockade against my country, the great obstacle that prevents the development of the Island,” García Granda told the journalist who asked him about the bet of Mallorcan businessmen to Cuba.
“Miguel Fluxá or the Escarrer show courage. They and their employees are sanctioned by a cruel and unjust blockade against my country, the great obstacle that prevents the development of the Island”
“Gabriel Escarrer was vetoed from entering the United States by former President Trump for, supposedly, benefiting from land expropriated in the revolution, is that correct? I should not get involved in that, but during the lawsuits the evidence has been shown in favorable sentences of the legality of the processes. It is part of the strategy to discourage foreign investment in Cuba, “continues the minister.
The Justice to date has not ruled on the legality of any process such as those mentioned by García Granda, which also improperly mixes the lawsuits in the United States under the Helms-Burton Act and the sanctions of the Trump Administration on “foreigners who have confiscated property of US nationals or trafficked in such property” with the complaints filed in the courts of Spain, where the Washington rule cannot be applied.
In the court of Palma, a complaint has been settled for three years by the Sánchez-Hill family, heirs of the land on which the Paradisus Rio de Oro and Sol Río and Luna Mares hotels are located and who demand compensation from Meliá for enrich themselves with their properties, confiscated without compensation. The case, which has had many twists, is waiting for new allegations on the part of the Cuban State, which is required as an interested party, but there has been no ruling in favor or against the merits of the matter, which is not the responsibility of the Spanish Justice.
In the interview, the reporter asks the minister if, as the slogan of Cuba’s stall at the fair says, on the island there is “tranquility”, to which García Granda responds that “it is breathed”, after a complex situation with the pandemic that has weighed down the tourism sector.
“That was something that happens in the world every day, however when it happens in Cuba, no matter how small, it is manipulated”
The official assures that 100% of the “target population” has been vaccinated with at least one dose and that by the end of the year all of them should have completed it. Although the Cuban Government has never clarified what it refers to as the target or vaccinable population, it can be deduced that it has discounted the percentage of people who reject immunization. According to the latest data from Ministry of Public Health, more than 65% of the population (7,326,707 Cubans) have received the complete guideline from Soberana or Abdala.
García Granda excuses himself when the journalist urges him to talk about the approval of the emergency use of the World Health Organization (WHO) and explains that the authorities are still waiting for recognition, but that the decrease in covid infections, hospitalizations and deaths endorse the operation of Cuban antidotes.
“Our tourism is safe and responsible. We have the guarantee that people will not get sick and those who come sick we will cure them. We only ask for the vaccination certificate or a negative PCR 72 hours in advance. And we have a great fortress, in each hotel there is a doctor, a nurse and an epidemiologist. We are going to take advantage of offering in the tourist package the possibility of getting vaccinated “, he says, despite the fact that vaccination in most countries is free, especially in the main issuers of travelers.
The minister also wanted to avoid commenting on the repression in Cuba and cut the journalist’s last question: “The social tension that erupted in the street against the Cuban government …? [Se adelanta a responder]”says the text of Mallorca newspaper. “That was something that happens in the world every day, however when it happens in Cuba, no matter how small, it is manipulated”, interrupts García Granda. “There is a Cuba in social networks and another Cuba in reality. We advocate that each citizen have their own opinion. Visit it.”
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