Spain calls Cuba’s refusal to allow entry for politician Luis Yanez unjustifiable

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Officials at Spain’s Foreign Ministry want to know why a Spanish politician was refused entry to Cuba and sent home today, calling the move unjustifiable.

In a statement, the ministry said Luis Yanez, who represents Spain at the European Parliament, was detained upon arrival in Cuba early today and expelled. Spanish officials did not say why Yanez went to the Caribbean island, and Cuban officials did not issue any immediate statements.

Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, the ministry’s top official for Latin America, reportedly called for ambassador Alejandro Gonzalez Galiano to provide an explanation.

Yanez has promoted contacts between European socialists and democratic Cuban dissidents as president of a group called Cuba-Europe in Progress, according to the Associated Press.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.