Cuban Cigars Facing Potential EU Ban Amid Forced Labor Reports
In September 2025, a report revealed that prisoners in Cuba are being forced to produce cigars, among other goods, under slave-like conditions. Despite the fact that many of these cigars have been sold in the EU—and likely in Sweden—reactions at both levels have been noticeably absent. It took nine months after the report's publication for the issue to be raised for the first time in a Swedish political context. The interpellation was initiated by Member of Parliament Markus Wiechel (Sweden Democrats, SD), a long-time critic of the EU's cooperation agreement with Cuba.
- We have successfully pushed the government to align with our position regarding the EU-Cuba agreement. This has led them to pressure the EU to terminate it," Wiechel stated.
Concurrently, a new EU regulation on forced labor could effectively eliminate the European Union as a market for Cuban cigars.
Published: 2026-06-06 08:03 Journalist: Ida Thunborg. Ida has previously written for Norran and Global Bar Magazine. She is currently (during the summer of 2026)a reporter at Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster (Swedish Radio). She holds a bachelor's degree in Spanish.
We use AI and Google Translate for translations, with some review to enhance readability. Pardon the Spanglish.
Disclaimer: Cigarrvärlden is owned and operated by Cigarrklubben CK Sverige AB, which also operates a cigar club and has a foot in both camps. To put it mildly. Divison and separation of operations and the editorial is explained under the section "Conflicts of Interest (in Swedish)". Cigarrvärlden operates under a ‘certificate of no legal impediment to publication conferring constitutional protection’ (utgivningsbevis). With this certificate, Cigarrvärlden enjoys a special legal status in Swedish law under the freedom of expression act.
60,000 Prisoners Subjected to Forced Labor
In September 2025, the organization Prisoners Defenders released a report revealing that 60,000 prisoners in Cuba were being subjected to forced labor. Their duties range from mineral extraction to cleaning and agriculture—most notably, the production of tobacco, one of the country's primary export products.
According to the report, inmates are forced to work under horrific conditions, averaging 60-hour workweeks with long days devoid of breaks or shelter from extreme heat, cold, or rain. The majority work without proper safety equipment, and the survey noted frequent reports of threats, violence, and sexual harassment. Furthermore, many lack employment contracts, and none receive a fair wage. Malnutrition is widespread, and several individuals interviewed for the report stated they suffered permanent injuries, including chronic back problems, kidney damage, high blood pressure, and stomach ailments. One woman was even forced to work throughout her pregnancy.
The report highlights that the Cuban government, which owns both the prisons and the state company selling the cigars, enjoys a 99.67% profit margin on every exported cigar produced within the prison system. It also estimates that in 2023, EU countries imported over $85 million worth of Cuban cigars (approximately 28 million cigars), directly funding this system.
While there are no official statistics detailing the exact size of Sweden's imports, calculations by Cigarrvärlden—based on tobacco taxes paid in Sweden by Elite Trading Scandinavia—estimate that around 653,000 cigars was imported to Sweden that same year. It is estimated that one-fifth to two-fifths of these cigars are sold in Sweden, while the remainder goes to Scandinavia and the Baltic states, which are also managed by the Habanos-owned Elite Trading Scandinavia.
The EU Cooperation Agreement with Cuba
EU imports of Cuban cigars are enabled by the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA), which was signed in 2016 and took effect the following year. The PDCA encompasses political cooperation, development aid, and trade relations.
The purpose of the agreement, alongside promoting trade, was to encourage Cuba to improve its human rights record. For this reason, the European Parliament insisted on a suspension clause if human rights failed to improve. Despite this, the human rights situation for Cuban citizens has steadily deteriorated.
In February 2024, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the EU to activate this clause and suspend the agreement. This action followed reports that the number of political prisoners had increased eightfold since 2018, femicides had risen, and forced labor under state supervision remained widespread. However, like many EU resolutions, it served as a statement rather than a mandate with immediate practical policy impact.
This was one of several occasions where the European Parliament took a stand against Cuba. By 2026, an own-initiative report was voted through, stating:
"Parliament calls on the Vice-President/High Representative and the Commission to use all necessary instruments available, without exception, to ensure compliance with the democracy and human rights clauses in cooperation agreements with these countries, including a thorough review, particularly regarding Cuba."
It is worth noting that this resolution is not legally binding. Once again, the primary justification for the statement was Cuba's lack of respect for human rights.
Is the Agreement Valid?
Although the agreement has been provisional since November 2017, it is still not fully ratified because it requires ratification from all EU member states. Lithuania remains the final country withholding ratification, though resistance was also prolonged in Sweden. Sweden only approved the agreement in 2019, making it the penultimate nation to do so.
MP Markus Wiechel (SD) was among those leading the opposition back then. He has challenged the PDCA in several parliamentary interpellations, and in May 2026, he became the first Swedish politician to bring the Prisoners Defenders report to light through a written question to the government.
- I think it’s crucial that more people become aware of this information, so they realize what they are sponsoring when they buy Cuban cigars. Many people still view them purely as a luxury product," Wiechel said.
Picture 1: Markus Wiechel (SD). Photo: Riksdag.
In his formal question to Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (Moderate Party, M), Wiechel inquired about the government's stance on the agreement at the EU level. Previous government responses indicate that Sweden is already pushing the EU to review the pact.
The Moderate-led government’s skepticism marks a significant shift from 2019, when the party voted alongside the Social Democrats, the Green Party, and the Left Party to approve the agreement. In their 2019 explanatory memorandum, the Moderates stated that the agreement was "an instrument too valuable to renounce," believing it would grant the EU leverage to influence democratic developments in Cuba.
Wiechel believes the Moderates’ change of heart is partly due to pressure from the Sweden Democrats.
"We have successfully pushed the government to align with our position regarding the EU-Cuba agreement. This has led them to pressure the EU to terminate it. It seems to be going our way, which is encouraging," Wiechel noted.
Picture 2: Björn Söder (SD) who is a Member of the Riksdag and served as Second Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag has also been a vocal critic of Swedish and EU policy towards Cuba. Here at an event held at Cigarrumet in the summer of 2023 by the Embassy of the Dominican Republic. To the right, Björn Söder stands with Dominican Ambassador Lourdes Victoria-Kruse. Photo: Canwamedia - Photo montage: Jakob Bergman.
Cigarrvärlden reached out to Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) through her press secretary, who referred us to the Foreign Ministry’s press service. Cigarrvärlden submitted a series of specific questions (see footnote), to which the press service responded via email:
"We refer you to the following parliamentary question and interpellation, which clearly outline the government's position on these matters:
U.S. blockade of Cuba (Interpellation debate, March 9, 2006) | Riksdag"
Cigarrvärlden also sought comments from the foreign policy spokespersons of both the Social Democrats and the Left Party to gain alternative political perspectives, but received no response. However, parliamentary records from the ratification vote show that the Left Party’s foreign policy spokesperson, Håkan Svenneling, acknowledged Cuba's human rights issues in his statement. He maintained that the party wanted to promote democratic development through Swedish support for civil society, while arguing at the time that Cuba was moving in a positive direction and that a restrictive approach risked harming democratic progress.
Cuban Cigars – A Thing of the Past?
Following the release of the report, Spanish MEP Jorge Martín Frías, representing the Patriots for Europe group, submitted a written question to the Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič. Frías inquired about the measures the Commission planned to take to prevent products manufactured under these conditions from entering the European market.
The Commissioner's response did not explicitly mention the PDCA agreement or its human rights clause. However, Šefčovič referred to a new regulation against forced labor that was passed in 2024, which member states have until 2027 to implement. The Commissioner stated that once enforced, this legislation will make it easier for both the Commission and member states to investigate allegations of slave labor and, upon finding convincing evidence, ban the affected products.
Therefore, even if the European Parliament and the Swedish government's efforts to tear up or review the cooperation agreement fall short, this new legislation could independently eliminate the EU as a market for Cuban cigars. If their production is found to rely on forced labor, the European market risks being blocked entirely—cutting off one of the primary export destinations for Cuba's most famous luxury item.
In Sweden, economic factors are also reducing the country's appeal as a market.
In an analysis published at the beginning of the year, by Cigarrvärldens Publisher and Editor-in-chief detailing how Elite Trading Scandinavia—the Swedish subsidiary of the state-owned Cuban tobacco company Habanos—got its Swedish tobacco revoked. Following years of financially creative maneuvers, there is now a distinct possibility that Habanos will shut down in Sweden entirely, as the owners have decided to liquidate the Swedish subsidiary—a development Cigarrvärlden reported on earlier this week.
Footnote: Cigarrvärlden sought comments from Prisoners Defenders Director-General Javier Larrondo, Morgan Johansson (S), former Minister for Justice and current foreign policy spokesperson, to no avail.
Kenneth G. Forslund (S), who chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs when Sweden ratified the agreement, stated via email: "I will look into the report and refresh my memory regarding the discussions and the decision. I will let you know if I have any comments."
The questions submitted to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs were as follows:
- The government has stated that it wants the EU to review the PDCA agreement between the Union and Cuba—why?
- How has this position been advanced within the Union?
- What has been the nature of the discussions at the ministerial level—especially after the European Parliament voted in January 2026 to terminate the agreement due to human rights violations?
- Is there reason to believe that this agreement will be terminated?
- Have there been prior discussions regarding dismantling the agreement via the human rights clause embedded within it?
Journalist: Ida Thunborg
Read our coverage about the development of Cuban cigars in Sweden:
12 September 2025 - Cuban Cigars And Their Asian Partners – Slave Trade, Fraud And Money Laundering. Under The Nose Of The Regulatory Agency In Gothenburg, Sweden.
25 October 2025 - DOJ Tightens Noose On Owner Behind Cuban Cigar Giant
26 October 2025 - Prince Groups latest rebuttal published in full
4 November 2025 - Swedish Habanos Importer gets Reprieve to present Chen Zhi's Cambodian tax and criminal records
9 November 2025 - Klarna blacklists Cuba and freezes payments to Swedish cigar dealers?
12 December 2025 - Chen Zhi to be removed from Habanos
7 January 2026 - Breaking News: Habanos Swedens tobacco license revoked
12 January 2026 - Analysis: What are the future prospects for Chen Zhi, Habanos in Sweden & globally?
2 June 2026: The International Crackdown on Habanos: Swedish Distributor Faces Independent Turmoil
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