Sanchez on first official trip by Spanish leader to Cuba in 32 years

• November 23 2018
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-report/sanchez-on-first-official-trip-by-spanish-leader-to-cuba-in-32-years_150382

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Pedro Sanchez yesterday kicked off the first official visit by a Spanish leader to Cuba in 32 years, as Havana seeks closer ties with the European Union faced with a hardline United States.

Sanchez's Socialist government said his two-day trip will end the “anomaly” that no Spanish leader has paid an official visit to the Communist island since 1986, despite Spain being Cuba's second biggest trading partner after Venezuela.

Other world leaders have visited Cuba in recent years, including US President Barack Obama's historic 2016 trip as he sought to thaw relations with Havana.

But relations between the two countries have declined under President Donald Trump.

The US has maintained its decades-long economic blockade of Cuba, citing repression of political opponents and curbs on freedom of expression.

It has also accused Cuba of being behind mysterious sonic “attacks” on US diplomats in the country who have suffered symptoms consistent with mild brain trauma — including, in some cases, disorientation and hearing loss.

Cuba has rejected those accusations.