On March 15, the official launch of the "Barbados-Cuba Aid" Initiative took place. In a press conference held at Pellican Village in Bridgetown, the different actors of this initiative provided information to various national media outlets.
The initiative, led by the Hibiscus Sports and Culture Foundation and the Barbados-Cuba Friendship Association, aims to mobilize national support from Barbadians in response to the ongoing economic and material challenges affecting the Cuban people.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Barbados, Yanet Stable Cárdenas, provided updated information about the difficulties faced by the Cuban people after six decades of blockade, an unjust and genocidal policy established by the United States Government, which was intensified to an extreme degree under the Trump Administration, applying a policy of blackmail to all countries trying to sell oil to Cuba, impeding the supply of fuel to the Island with the aim of suffocating its economy and thereby trying to overthrow the Cuban Revolution. The president of the Barbados-Cuba Friendship Association, David Denny, explained that Cuba has supported for years a series of initiatives that have benefited the peoples of the Caribbean, therefore, now is the time for the region to support the Cuban people. The pan-Africanist Saa-Ankh Clarke, with her emotional intervention, reaffirmed the need to raise awareness among the people of Barbados so that they show solidarity with the reality of the Cuban people and support this humanitarian initiative put into action.