Response to interpellation 2025/26:340 on the USA's blockade of Cuba
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerned the USA's blockade of Cuba and its compatibility with international law. M argues that the government takes the lack of democracy and human rights in Cuba seriously, where the Cuban leadership's repressive policies are the main cause of the people's suffering 1 2 3. M opposes the extraterritorial application of the embargo as it violates trade rules 1 2. M wants to see a changed system of government, free elections, and the release of political prisoners 3. M criticizes the PDCA agreement because it has not yielded results in the area of democracy 2. - considers the blockade to be economic warfare and a violation of international law 4. - argues that the blockade aims to induce hunger and desperation 5. - advocates for dialogue and support through civil society and the business community 5. - wants to maintain the PDCA agreement as a platform for political dialogue 5. - emphasizes Cuba's right to self-determination and argues that the blockade causes a humanitarian catastrophe 4 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! Lorena Delgado Varas has asked me whether I consider the US blockade of Cuba to be compatible with international law. Lorena Delgado Varas has also asked me whether I and the government have made any decisions to send humanitarian, medical or technical support to Cuba due to the worsened situation caused by the blockade.
Furthermore, Lorena Delgado Varas has asked me in what way I and the government intend to live up to Sweden's commitments under the UN Charter and international human rights conventions when it comes to opposing illegal unilateral coercive measures. Finally, Lorena Delgado Varas has asked me if I and the government intend to actively work within the EU and the UN to ensure that the blockade ends, including clearly marking our opposition to the USA's extraterritorial sanctions, which also affect Swedish and European actors.
The Government views the situation in Cuba and the lack of democracy and human rights in the country seriously. The Government is deeply concerned by the Cuban state's repressive treatment of dissenters and the existence of political prisoners. The Government is also keen that the country's difficult humanitarian, economic, and political situation improves. The Government feels concern for the Cuban people's lack of well-being and rights, which is primarily a consequence of the Cuban leadership's repressive policies and communist ideology.
Sweden, like the EU, considers that sanctions should be temporary, targeted, and proportionate. Sweden voted last year, as in previous years, together with a majority of the EU's member states in the UN General Assembly for the resolution calling for a lifting of the US trade embargo against Cuba. The government opposes the embargo's extraterritorial application, which contravenes international trade rules. For Sweden's prosperity, it is crucial that the international trade system is maintained.
Sweden currently has no humanitarian support to Cuba at the country level. However, Sweden provides core funding to several UN organizations operating in Cuba that carry out humanitarian work in the country. The Government supports, for example, the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which enables rapid interventions to assist people in sudden-onset or worsening humanitarian crises. The fund allocated, among other things, 4 million US dollars to Cuba for early life-saving interventions in connection with Hurricane Melissa in October 2025. Furthermore, Sida's partners have access to flexible funds through a rapid financing mechanism, but so far no requests have been received from Cuba.
The Government will continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining the rules-based international trading system and protecting the EU's economic interests. At the same time, the Government will, together with the EU, continue to work to promote democratic development and respect for human rights in Cuba.
Lorena Delgado Varas (-)
Madam Speaker! I must begin by stating that the Minister's answer shows a lack of historical awareness that surprises me. I would like to take the opportunity to remind the House of a document that is more than 60 years old but is still highly relevant. In April 1960, US official Lester Mallory wrote a secret memorandum which forms the basis for the policy the USA pursues today. There it stated in black and white that the goal of USA's policy is to induce hunger and desperation and overthrow the government. This is not a side effect of the blockade but the very purpose of the blockade. They want to deny Cuba money and supplies in order to tear apart society.
Just a few weeks ago, on January 29, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and threatening all countries that supply oil to Cuba with tariffs. The purpose is simply to stop Cuba's energy supply, regardless of the consequences.
The Minister says in his response that Sweden voted for the UN resolution to lift the blockade. That is true, and it is good. But the Minister forgets to mention that the USA has now tightened the blockade to a level that has consequences for Swedish companies and Swedish interests through the Helms-Burton Acts' extraterritorial claims.
My question remains, as I do not think I received an answer to it: Does the Minister consider the US blockade to be compatible with international law? And how does it square with Sweden's commitment under the UN Charter?
I would like to take the opportunity to ask the minister why it is always so quiet about the dictatorships that the USA supports. When the minister speaks about human rights, why is Saudi Arabia never mentioned? And why is Israel never mentioned, which daily violates the rights of Palestinians with USA weapons and commits genocide with the help of these weapons?
Actually, it is not about whether the Minister thinks Cuba is a dictatorship or not, but about which paths are best if we want to support democratic development in a state and continue to respect the people's self-determination regardless of which economic system it chooses. If Cuba now has such a bad system, is it not then the smartest path to open up for dialogue and support relations through both civil society and the business sector?
Sweden has still not ratified the PDCA agreement with Cuba, and this government wants to terminate it. It is said that the dialogue is not working. But then I wonder what the alternative is. Is it to let the USA continue with the blockade, threaten other countries and isolate Cuba further? That is exactly what the USA wants to achieve. The agreement is not perfect, but it is currently the only platform we have for political dialogue.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! The Cuban regime systematically violates human rights. There is a lack of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful assembly. Opposition journalists and human rights activists are subjected to surveillance, harassment, and arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The Government sees no reason to defend such a regime.
At the same time, I and the government have consistently emphasized the importance of international law being respected. International law is a cornerstone of Swedish foreign policy and a long-term security interest for Sweden. All states have a responsibility to respect and act in accordance with international law regardless of any other political or security policy considerations. This also applies in the matter of sanctions.
We have, through the annual vote in the UN General Assembly, repeated that we oppose the US trade embargo against Cuba, which affects the Cuban population in a disproportionate manner. I addressed this in my interpellation response, but it must have escaped the member's notice. I repeat: The Government opposes the embargo's extraterritorial application, which contravenes international trade rules.
Cuba has long been in a difficult economic crisis, where long power outages have been commonplace. This crisis will most likely be exacerbated if oil deliveries are completely stopped. In the long run, a humanitarian crisis cannot be ruled out. The American legislation also contains, as stated, parts that the EU and others have previously assessed to contain unauthorized extraterritorial application.
Lorena Delgado Varas asks about the PDCA agreement and wonders why the government is critical of this EU agreement, which entails a political dialogue and cooperation with Cuba. The government protects the Cuban people but not the Cuban regime. The government has criticized the agreement because it does not yield results in the area of democracy and regarding human rights in the way that had been hoped for. We believe that the EU needs to put more pressure on the Cuban regime to promote democratic development. It is through democracy, human rights, and a free and market-oriented economic system that a prosperous society can be built even in Cuba.
Lorena Delgado Varas (-)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. Once again, it is about words. But what is actually being done to achieve action for that which one says one supports?
The Minister speaks about democracy, which is something I also like to speak about. But I also want to speak about the enemies of democracy. The USA's blockade is not passive. It is a matter of economic warfare. This is a violation of international law. It is colonialism in its most modern form. They say they want to liberate the Cuban people, but what they are doing is starving them by stopping the entire energy supply to the country. They use the same logic that the colonial powers had when countries wanted to liberate themselves from them.
That is where PDCA comes into the picture. One wants to terminate the cooperation agreements with Cuba. But it is not the case that an agreement will lead to a major improvement by itself, rather it must involve active measures. Now there are Swedish companies operating in Cuba but unfortunately they are being stopped. As I see it, Swedish companies can engage in many other things in a country than just business. They can create waves in society.
It would be welcome if an open dialogue were maintained. If one has followed Cuba's development over the last 20–30 years, one has been able to see changes, especially before the USA really set things against each other in Cuba. At that time, there was an openness for international companies to operate in Cuba. Bridges were also opened from different types of Swedish parties to different political organizations in Cuba.
It is important to consider what this means. Right now, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Cuba. It has been reported that the blockade has caused material damage exceeding 7.5 billion dollars. Now, the oil supply has been cut off. This means that hospitals are left without fuel. This obviously has consequences for people. Food rots in ports, and people are forced to live in darkness.
It also means that one interrupts the internal democratic dialogue between the people in Cuba. It has quite large effects. If one does not turn sharply against what the USA is doing now, one undermines international laws. The USA has taken on the role of deciding and acting exactly as they want everywhere in the world.
It does not only concern Cuba. It concerns Venezuela, Iran and Greenland. We cannot continue to let a country like the USA itself decide how it acts in different countries and itself decide which countries should be shaped in what way. It is every country's right to self-determination to do that.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! When it comes to the PDCA agreement, it is not correct that we have not ratified it or that we think it should be terminated. But we want to see a review because we think it is not functioning as it should. We have also received support for this within the EU.
The important thing now is to work together for a democratic Cuba where human rights are respected. It is the Cuban regime that is ultimately responsible for ensuring that this actually happens.
The government has voted for the UN resolution to lift the US trade embargo. But we also know that the Cuban regime routinely blames the embargo for Cuba's social problems and uses the embargo as an excuse not to implement necessary reforms and open up the country.
The Cuban people must be given the opportunity to live in a free society and to freely exercise civil, political, and economic freedoms and rights. For this to happen, the Cuban regime must also immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, and the regime must allow free and fair elections.
The Government continuously evaluates the humanitarian needs that exist in the world, which also includes Cuba. We closely follow the developments in the country through our embassy on site in Havana and in consultation with other EU countries. We are in contact with the humanitarian UN organizations that are active in Cuba.
Sweden's aid amounted to 17 million kronor during 2025. The aid has a clear focus on human rights and supporting an economic reform process, decentralization, and private small-scale entrepreneurship, regarding the importance of companies. All are important measures to open the Cuban economy and thereby also improve the living conditions for ordinary Cubans.
Lorena Delgado Varas (-)
Madam Speaker! I intended to raise the question of the living conditions of the Cubans. Cuba has shown an incredible resilience. Despite 60 years of blockade, they have a literacy rate that is higher than the USA's. They have a health system that, despite a shortage of medicine, sends doctors to other countries in distress. We see that protests are occurring in many countries because they are beginning to withdraw the Cuban doctors.
I can take an example of why the embargo is so problematic. During the corona period, Cuba was denied vaccines. One did not get access to vaccines and devices that could facilitate people's ability to breathe and so on. Cuba was forced to create and produce its own vaccines.
Why is this being done? How does one believe that that path and those pressures will in some way lead to democracy? It will not do that. The only ones who will suffer are Cuba's people.
It is good that the Minister agrees that the blockade should be lifted. It is less good that one does not understand the importance of the fact that the people of Cuba have a right to self-determination. We must find other ways to provide support.
If one now thinks that the democratic organizations in Cuba need support, one needs to find other concrete ways, concrete actions, which do not cause the people of Cuba to suffer because another country, USA, wants them to do so.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! The government wants to see a change that will benefit the Cuban people. We are convinced that such a change requires a changed system of government in the country. Cuba's population has a right to self-determination. It is therefore necessary to hold free and fair elections, and it is therefore that political prisoners must be released from prison.
Let us not forget that the situation in Cuba is primarily a consequence of the Cuban leadership's repressive policy and communist ideology. It is an ideology that both Lorena Delgado Varas and Vänsterpartiet have embraced for so long.
How Magdalena Andersson's government alternative can at all conduct a reasonable foreign policy on those premises is something I question very much.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.