Madam Vice-President:
A dictatorship has emerged in the globalised world. The order born out of the Second World War to prevent a third is being destroyed, and the philosophy of plunder is proclaimed as the exceptional and supreme right of the United States of America to conquest and the use of force as an immanent, natural, and everyday way of being. Beyond ideologies, all nation-states are in danger regardless of their cultural or political models.
The world's primary hydrocarbon reserve, Venezuela, was viciously attacked. What will happen to critical mineral and rare earth deposits, water reserves, the Amazon, the seabed, the Arctic and the Antarctic, the occupation of supposedly strategic enclaves, interoceanic passages, and trade routes, when weakness and opportunism encourage conquest? What would freedom of commerce and navigation look like with the use of tariffs as an instrument of aggression and the extraterritorial application of US laws and the jurisdiction of US courts?
The executive order of the 29th of January by the President of the United States declares collective punishment against the Cuban people and aims to create a humanitarian catastrophe through an energy siege.
Can a great power be permitted to attempt to destroy a small, peaceful nation, provoke a humanitarian tragedy, shatter its national culture, and subject a noble and solidary people to genocide under the crude pretext of national security? The Cuban people will defend with the greatest vigour and courage, in close unity and broad consensus, their right to self-determination, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order.
We shall do so with the support of Cubans residing in other latitudes. We will prevent a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, even though we will endure privations and suffering. We are a politically conscious, educated, and brave people, with a highly skilled workforce and robust, universal systems of education, healthcare, and science.
We have arable land, water, mineral reserves, infrastructure; we produce almost half of the crude oil we consume, we possess refining capacity, and we are advancing in significant and efficient investments in solar energy. Through suffering, three generations of Cubans have overcome the United States blockade for more than 60 years. We have shown solidarity with everyone, especially with the nations of the South.
Even in the worst-case scenario, we shall persist. We will find creative solutions. In the face of all difficulties, we will mitigate the humanitarian damage.
We will stand in solidarity. We will also be willing to engage in dialogue with the United States based on sovereign equality and international law, mutual respect, and reciprocal benefit, without preconditions or interference in internal affairs, aimed at achieving a civilised relationship within our differences and even promoting cooperation in possible areas. Our commitment to the defence and promotion of all human rights for all human beings is strengthened.
We will continue to defend the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and the integrity of migrants. We admire the people of Minnesota in their community resistance. We will oppose double standards and political manipulation.
On the Centenary of the birth of the Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, our determination to defend the nation is total, and the decision to safeguard a society focused on achieving the full dignity of the human being and the broadest justice is irrevocable.
Thank you very much.