Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno RodrĂguez. Photo: X
The Cuban foreign minister has stated that, in addition to diplomatic pressure, intimidation has been exerted on certain countries that condemn the economic blockade that Washington has maintained on Havana for over half a century.
Originally published in People's Dispatch.
For the past three decades, the United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly rejected the economic and commercial blockade that the United States imposes on Cuba as a measure of punishment, attrition, and isolation.
Votes have repeatedly shown that the overwhelming majority of countries in the world reject the blockade, considering it an attack on the sovereignty and right to self-determination of nations. It is usually the United States, along with a few allies such as Israel and two or three other countries voting in support of the blockade, that receive a clear message from the world: the blockade must be lifted.
The blockade has been in place since the 1960s; it has been one of the longest in human history, and undoubtedly the longest in recent history. Washingtonâs aim to exhaust the revolutionary process, which began in 1959 after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista, has caused impressive economic losses to the Caribbean country.
According to several analyses, the measure imposed unilaterally by the United States has cost Cuba some USD 150 billion, which has dealt a devastating blow to the Cuban economy. The sanctions and obstacles, after a brief interlude during the Obama administration, have intensified with the arrival of Trump, who has decided to reinstate Cuba on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, further complicating economic and commercial transactions with the Caribbean Island.
A new diplomatic attempt by Washington
In this regard, Cuban authorities are denouncing that the United States is exerting pressure to force countries to vote differently at the upcoming United Nations assembly that will discuss the economic and commercial blockade on Cuba.
This was denounced by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno RodrĂguez, who stated that Washington has asked its ambassadors and various diplomatic officials to carry out âintimidating and deceptive activitiesâ to obtain a different result, âespecially in Latin America and Europe, with a campaign aimed not only at distorting Cubaâs image, but also at generating pressure against third countries with regard to their position against the blockade against our homeland.â
To this end, RodrĂguez points out, the United States has issued two reports in which Cuba is allegedly a âthreat to peaceâ and has supported Russian military forces in the war in Ukraine. This has been categorically denied by Havana. In addition, Washington has begun political and ideological work to convince governments that the blockade against Cuba is not real, according to the top Cuban diplomat.
âThey have sent threatening letters to several countries, even linking those countriesâ votes on this resolution [of the UN General Assembly] to issues that have nothing to do with the matter at hand ⌠This anxiety on the part of the US government shows that it understands that the international community overwhelmingly believes in and supports the need to end the blockade. I am convinced that the vast majority of countries will vote with the truth and for the truth; with justice and for justice,â said RodrĂguez.
For now, it remains to be seen how many countries will change their historic position defending the right to national sovereignty and self-determination. It would not be surprising if, under Washingtonâs new foreign policy approach, the United States were to win several votes in its favor.
In Latin America alone, presidents such as Javier Milei in Argentina and Daniel Noboa in Ecuador have publicly and repeatedly announced their absolute alignment with Washingtonâs foreign policy. However, Cuba calls for respect for a legacy that has demanded an end to the injustice of the strong against the weak, as every country can see itself reflected in this predicament.
Meanwhile, in the United States, activists have rejected efforts by their government to âgaslightâ the world about its blockade of Cuba. The Peopleâs Forum, a movement incubator in New York City, released a statement ahead of the vote to denounce such moves, and emphasized, âThere is a central, glaring contradiction in the entire argument of the US government: if the blockade is a âlie,â as they claim, then why not lift it? If it is as inconsequential as the US suggests, then removing it would be a cost-free gesture of goodwill. The fact that successive administrations have obsessively clung to the blockade exposes the truth: its punitive purpose is entirely intentional. The US creates the hardship and then blames the victim.â
The statement highlights, âThe US has for decades defended a policy that has explicitly aimed to reduce the Cuban people to âhunger and miseryâ with the hope of provoking popular unrest. The goal of the US blockade is not to promote freedom, but to punish a nation for being independent.â
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