Upper Austria, May 10, 2026. As part of the international commemoration of the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp, the Cuban Embassy in Austria, together with the Austrian-Cuban Friendship Society (ÖKG) and solidarity groups from across the country, honored the five Cubans who were murdered in this Nazi camp during World War II: Roberto Cortezón, Félix Llanos, Alberto Sánchez, José Luis Pérez Arocha, and Manuel Sola Castillo.
The event was attended by numerous supporters and representatives of Austrian political movements, as well as members of delegations from other countries, making it a platform to denounce the economic coercive measures imposed by the United States against Cuba.
In his speech, Ambassador Pablo Berti Oliva drew a direct parallel between the barbarism of fascism and the current practices of the blockade. He pointed out that the perpetrators were not supernatural monsters, but ordinary people who committed or tolerated acts of cruelty, and warned: “Silence in the face of crime is also a form of complicity. Today, the same mechanism is repeating itself in the world.”
The Cuban diplomat also denounced the tightening of the blockade against Cuba: “Since the beginning of the year, the Trump administration has already issued two executive orders. An energy blockade. A financial stranglehold. A targeted persecution to bring an entire nation to its knees.”
The ambassador’s words built an indelible ethical bridge: “The claim to superiority, the arrogance of imposing a model by force, the contempt for the sovereignty of others: that is the root of fascism. And it is precisely this logic that today disguises itself as sanctions, as lists, as blockades.”
The day demonstrated once again that solidarity with Cuba transcends borders and is strengthened by the defense of memory, truth, and justice.
(EmbaCubaAustria)
