The Diplomat
The Cuban authorities have still not given the green light for the opening of a Spanish Consulate General in Camagüey, according to the response given by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the media outlet Martí Noticias, through the Transparency Portal.
The publication wanted to know the number of visas granted to Cuban citizens last year, which, according to the reply obtained, numbered 16,196, but was also interested in the saturation of Spanish consular services on the island as a result of requests to obtain Spanish nationality under the Law of Democratic Memory, popularly known as the Law of Grandchildren.
In this regard, Martí Noticias asked about the opening of a new Consulate General in the city of Camagüey, since Spain only has a Consulate General in Havana, which has had to be reinforced with more people to deal with the avalanche of requests for nationality.
In 2006, Spain expressed its desire to open a new Consulate General in the east of the island, specifically in Santiago de Cuba, and after years of negotiation, the Castro authorities agreed in May 2017 to open it the following year, but later changed their mind.
In 2019, the Spanish government proposed that the opening of the second Consulate General should take place in a town located slightly more in the centre of the island, taking into account the areas in which the Spanish colony is distributed.
Spain reportedly proposed up to three locations in Camagüey to the Cuban government, but none of them have been finalised to date. In August 2022, official Spanish sources admitted that the opening was “pending the approval of the Cuban authorities”.
Now, in its response to Martí Noticias, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declines to provide information on the process, because “it could damage the ongoing negotiations and thus harm foreign relations”.
“The opening of a Consulate General (…) selection of the location, the headquarters, the composition of the staff… will always be the result of numerous and detailed diplomatic negotiations between the sending State and the receiving State (…) subject to the rules of confidentiality”, the Ministry indicates in its reply.
Spain has a Consulate General in Havana, which is staffed by a consul general and, at present, due to the reinforcement of the Law on Grandchildren, four deputy consuls. In addition, there are three honorary vice-consuls in Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey and Santa Clara.
Cuba, on the other hand, has five consulates general in Spain, located in Madrid, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, Gran Canaria and Seville.
