In Cadiz, Spain Hans van Baalen MEP, as President of Liberal International and leader of the VVD delegation in the European Parliament, called upon the Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero to stop his support for Latin American dictators.

'Spain has close ties to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and the Castro brothers in Cuba. In Spain, the democratic elections in Honduras are still not recognised and the normalisation of relations between Honduras and the EU has ground to a halt. The fact that former Finance Minister Gabriela Nunez is not able to attend the LI Cadiz Conference due to blacklisting by the Spanish government is a disgrace.

Especially during its EU Presidency, Spain must make a clear choice for democracy and the rule of law in Latin America instead of refusing entry to Latin American democrats like Gabriela Nunez for opposing authoritarianism.'