Havana/Ricardo Cabrisas, the regime’s international negotiator, traveled once again to France to discuss, this Friday, the umpteenth modification of the debt that Cuba has with the Paris Club. The institution’s creditors, who are well aware of the deputy prime minister’s inventory of justifications, nevertheless agreed to “better conditions” for payment.
In a brief statement Regarding the rescheduling of the debt, the president of the Club, Bertrand Dumont, alluded to the “complex economic and financial situation of the country”, about which Cabrisas gave details. The negotiator also promised that the regime will implement “policies and measures” that are part of a development plan to pay the debt.
Specifically, Cabrisas rescheduled two Havana agreements with the Paris Club: the one signed on December 12, 2015 and the one on June 10, 2021. What was agreed this Friday, according to the institution, guarantees that Cuba preserves its relationship with the countries members of the Creditors Group, composed of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland.
What was agreed this Friday, according to the institution, guarantees that Cuba preserves its relationship with the member countries of the Group of Creditors
Neither party offered details about the dates or amounts of the renegotiation.
The official press of the Island added that Cabrisas had expanded on the US “blockade”, which he defined as the “main obstacle to the development” of the country. He also thanked the “sensitivity of the creditors in dealing with the issue, the understanding of the issues explained and the role played by the European Union in the negotiations, particularly by the host France.”
This negotiation will be followed by a series of “bilateral agreements” whose content was not detailed by the Cuban side either. Prensa Latina, which reported the exchange, added a colorful note to express that relations with the Paris Club are in a good moment: the signing of the agreement was carried out with The Guantanamera as a musical backdrop.
Countless unpaid debts demonstrate Cuba’s lack of credibility on the international financial scene. He last balance of the Paris Club – in 2022 – showed that the amount of debt amounted to 4,827 million dollars.
The number was revealed that year in Havana by William Roos, co-president of the Club, who was also at the negotiations this Friday. It was Roos who, after speaking with Cabrisas, assured that “there is understanding towards the difficulties that the Island is going through.”
Countless unpaid debts demonstrate Cuba’s lack of credibility on the international financial scene.
During those meetings, one of Cabrisas’ main arguments was the inclusion of Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism drawn up by Washington. This Friday, no reference was made to that matter in any of the versions of the meeting: the Joe Biden Administration withdrew the regime from the inventory this Tuesday, in exchange for the release of 553 prisoners and with the mediation of the Vatican.
Cuba then obtained a new payment schedule to pay a debt that remains the second in the region, only surpassed by Venezuela, which exceeds 8 billion dollars.
Until 2015, the debt amounted to 10,660 million of dollars. That year, a haircut traditionally calculated at 8.5 billion was negotiated, although the documentation for the years 2016 and 2017 is not archived on the institution’s website. In 2018, the amount amounted to 5,560 million dollars, which was reduced to 5,211 in 2019. But with the arrival of the pandemic, Cuba stopped paying the installments and, at the end of that year, the amount had increased to 5,667 million dollars.
Cabrisas maintained several meetings in 2021 to improve the conditions of payment of installments. At that time, the “unprecedented intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States and the impact of phenomena associated with climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic” were also resorted to.
The authorities promised that, after the worst of the pandemic, tourism would recover and the money would arrive again and they obtained new relief, with a moratorium until 2022. There was also no economic improvement and tourism, since then, has not raised its head. From extension to extension, the Paris Club continues to be convinced by Cabrisas, who continues to take the reins of Foreign Trade despite having left the portfolio in 2024.
