Cuba, a symbol of liberation and socialism, faces the threat of U.S. imperialist aggression
In an international context marked by a flagrant violation of the principles of the United Nations and the norms governing relations among states, concern is growing among peoples—especially in small and less developed countries—against a backdrop of increasing foreign interventions and regional and local wars.
It is not normal that, recently, the president of a major power such as the United States has declared his intention to control the Panama Canal and Greenland and to annex Canada and other territories; that he supports the Zionist enemy in the destruction of Gaza and southern Lebanon, among other places; and that he announces his intention to overthrow Cuba—a sovereign and independent state—and its political system once his war against Iran is over. It is worth remembering that it is the peoples themselves who choose the system they consider appropriate for themselves. This U.S. approach, which confirms the aggressive nature of imperialism and the danger it poses to the world, seeks to impose the law of the jungle.
Hostility toward the Cuban Revolution and its people began with the Revolution’s victory in 1959. Since then, the United States has tried by every means to overthrow a revolution that serves as an example for the peoples of Latin America, for whom Cuba represents the dream and aspiration of national and social liberation.
Among the methods used was the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) planning and execution of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. This event accelerated the radicalization of the Cuban Revolution, spurred the nationalization of U.S. companies and agricultural projects—as well as those in other sectors—which were distributed among the peasants, and consolidated the adoption of socialism as a path to development.
The Revolution achieved significant social gains for the Cuban people, guaranteeing public health care, education, and housing for all, and eliminating racial discrimination based on skin color and ethnic origin. These achievements, together with the restoration of national dignity, strengthened the unity of the overwhelming majority of the Cuban people, their commitment to the Revolution, and their support for the leadership headed by Fidel Castro.
All of this helped strengthen the Cuban people’s resistance to the unjust economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by Washington from 1962 to the present.
This blockade is not limited to Cuba. U.S. imperialism extends it to any company, country, institution, or even vessel anywhere in the world that maintains relations with Cuba, imposing sanctions that include a ban on access to U.S. ports.
Maurice Nohra
President of the Lebanon-Cuba Friendship Association