Port of Spain, October 27, 2026. Below is the full text of the article written by Cuban Ambassador Gustavo Veliz Olivares, titled “US Blockade Against Cuba: Reality or Fiction?”, published today in the newspaper “The Guardian.”
The blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba is an undeniable, regrettable and cruel reality that the Cuban people have endured for more than six decades.
Today and tomorrow, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), meeting in New York, will consider the draft resolution titled “Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Embargo Imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.” This will mark the 34th occasion on which the General Assembly addresses and takes a position on this issue, with overwhelming international support for Cuba’s resolution once again anticipated.
The blockade against Cuba has been further tightened and intensified, reaching a qualitatively different and quantitatively more aggressive and inhumane stage. The deliberate attempt to suffocate the country’s energy sector under false pretexts, together with Cuba’s unjust inclusion on the US list of alleged State Sponsors of Terrorism, has aggravated the consequences of this policy, inflicting even greater hardship on the daily lives of the Cuban people.
For decades, the US has faced overwhelming international opposition to its blockade policy at the United Nations. Now, as another rejection of its hostile policy towards Cuba approaches, Washington has launched initiatives aimed at discrediting Cuba’s arguments, categorically denying the existence of the blockade and attempting to portray Cuba itself as responsible for the severe consequences of the punitive measures imposed upon it.
During a media conference held in Havana on October 21, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla informed members of the national and international media, as well as the diplomatic corps accredited in Cuba, that the Cuban government possesses a copy of a US Department of State instruction aimed at pressuring governments not to support what Washington describes as Cuban “propaganda.”
Such an approach seeks to dismiss the existence of the blockade and its humanitarian consequences, despite the extensive evidence of their impact on the Cuban population.
According to the Cuban Foreign Minister, US pressure on other governments has included threats to impose punitive tariffs, suspend cooperation programmes, deny visas to government officials and their family members and support opposition forces in the countries concerned. He also denounced threats of political destabilisation, interference in electoral processes, encouragement of subversion or the overthrow of governments, actions against legitimate economic, financial, commercial and investment interests, and the imposition of secondary sanctions.
Minister Rodríguez Parrilla further stated that the US Department of State had even urged certain countries to abstain from voting or leave the General Assembly Hall altogether to avoid participating in the vote.
The issue to be discussed by the UNGA is therefore by no means merely a bilateral matter between Cuba and the United States. It concerns the sovereign rights of all states and the fundamental principles governing international relations.
While Washington continues to deny the impact of its blockade, the Cuban population faces increasingly severe difficulties in everyday life.
These challenges persist despite the sustained efforts of the Cuban government to preserve the internationally recognised social achievements attained since 1959, particularly in areas such as public health, education and social welfare.
The Cuban public health system, one of the country’s most significant social achievements, has been particularly affected. Between March 2025 and February 2026, the economic damage attributed to the blockade in the public health sector amounted to US$367,303,500. The cumulative damage to this sector over more than six decades has reached US$4,550,492,914, reflecting the profound and lasting consequences of this policy. The situation is especially critical in programmes of high social sensitivity, including the Maternal and Child Health Care Programme.
The Cuban health system faces serious challenges in ensuring the medical monitoring of 39,750 pregnant women who require essential diagnostic ultrasound examinations.
Similarly, approximately 67,000 children under one year of age face difficulties in receiving adequate medical follow-up and timely immunisation in accordance with the national vaccination schedule.
Paediatric oncology is another area experiencing serious consequences.
Approximately 400 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed in Cuba every year. Difficulties in accessing essential medicines and medical supplies have forced healthcare professionals to resort to second- and third-line chemotherapy protocols, affecting treatment outcomes and overall survival rates.
According to the figures presented by Cuban authorities, the overall survival rate among children with cancer has declined from 85% to 65%. In these extremely difficult circumstances, Cuban doctors and healthcare professionals continue to demonstrate extraordinary commitment, dedication and professionalism. Often working under conditions of prolonged power outages, shortages of medicines and limited medical resources, they perform what could only be described as remarkable feats to save lives and provide care to their patients.
The pressure placed on the Cuban healthcare system has also been compounded by intensified US actions against Cuba’s international medical cooperation programmes. The US has increased its pressure on countries hosting Cuban medical brigades, seeking to undermine or terminate cooperation agreements established between governments and health ministries.
The blockade constitutes a violation of international law, including applicable principles of international humanitarian law. Its consequences extend beyond Cuba’s borders. The extraterritorial application of US legislation and the attempt to impose decisions by US courts beyond their jurisdiction undermine the sovereignty of third countries and affect the legitimate activities of foreign companies, financial institutions and individuals.
Such measures cause economic, political and legal harm not only to Cuba but also to other nations whose sovereign rights and legitimate interests are affected by the unilateral enforcement of US legislation.
The blockade is therefore not simply a question of relations between two neighbouring countries. It is an issue involving respect for international law, sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of states and the right of peoples to determine their own development paths.
Cuba poses no threat to the national security or economy of the United States, nor does it seek to do so. The blockade against Cuba is neither fiction nor propaganda. It is a longstanding reality with profound humanitarian consequences for the Cuban people. Ending it remains a matter of justice, respect for international law and the sovereign right of Cuba to pursue its development free from external coercion.