The NGO states that the mechanism it proposes “could compensate victims with the resources embezzled and plundered from the Cuban people by the Havana regime”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, June 5, 2026 – The Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) formally urged the authorities of the European Union (EU) to participate in the creation of an “International Compensation Fund for the Victims of Crimes Against Humanity of the Cuban Communist Regime,” according to a statement issued this Thursday.
The OCDH delivered its petition to the Madrid office of the representations of the European Commission and the European Parliament in Spain, according to the statement.
The NGO states that the mechanism it proposes “could compensate victims with the resources embezzled and plundered from the Cuban people by the Havana regime,” because “assets stolen from Cubans should be used to compensate Cubans.”
The petition is addressed to the principal European authorities, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“The Havana regime confiscated the people’s property and concentrated the assets in what is now known as Gaesa”
“It is wealth extracted from the sweat of Cubans,” denounced OCDH Executive Director Alejandro González Raga, explaining that “the Havana regime confiscated the people’s property and concentrated the assets in what is now known as Gaesa [Business Administration Group S.A.], an opaque military structure.”
According to the statement, the United States Department of State “estimates the illicit assets of that conglomerate deposited in foreign accounts at up to 20 billion dollars.”
The petition comes after the U.S. Executive Order of May 1, which provides for sanctions against individuals and companies that maintain business relations with the Cuban state, and the sanctioning, one week later, of Gaesa.
“Every dollar frozen from Gaesa is a dollar available to compensate victims,” the OCDH states.
The Observatory emphasizes the need for action by the EU, since, in its view, it has the necessary legal mechanisms to carry out the requested action, and urges its participation as a founding organization in the Compensation Fund with an initial contribution and technical assistance.
“Europe was conceived as a community of values, not only of interests; the time has come to prove it,” González Raga concluded.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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