Kingston, 4 December 2022. We who are gathered at this National Meeting of Solidarity Organizations with Cuba, 6 years , following the anniversary of the transition of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel, call on the administration of the United States of America to unconditionally lift the criminal economic blockade of our sister country, whose anachronistic retention, is a bare-faced and arrogant repudiation of international law, a systematic violation of the Human Rights of the Cuban People and an act of Genocide under the 1948 United Nations ‘Convention on the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide’.
The US blockade violates international law, is contrary to the purposes and principles enshrined in in the United Nations Charter, constitutes a flagrant transgression to the peaceful development of our sister country’s right to self-determination, a permanent threat to the stability to the country and a unilateral act of war.
This criminal blockade along with its extra-territorial application of the Helms Burton and Toricelli Acts of over 6 decades, constitutes the single and primary obstacle to the development of the economy of Cuba, where its estimated that USD1,326,432,000.000( taken against the devaluation of the US dollar in relation the gold standard) of punitive damages have been inflicted on the courageous Cuban people, for standing up in defense of their sovereignty and the right to a particular path of economic and social development.
Despite the unprecedented choke-hold on our sister nation by US imperialism, Cuba, because of its astute leadership and the determined and resilient spirit of the people, has made phenomenal gains in all sectors of society and in the delivery of health, housing and education to the people. Not only that, Cuba is known for its internationalist support to nations across the world, fighting Ebola in Africa, eradicating illiteracy in some Latin American countries, and providing support in education and healthcare through the deployment of doctors, nurses and other specialists. This beacon of hope for all of us who struggle for a better world, has developed cures to several common diseases which afflict people all over the world. Cuba also delivers immediate non-military responses to nations in and outside the region to cope with the effects of natural disasters. In many cases they are the first to respond to the needs as they arise. Imagine what Cuba could do without the cruel and crippling US blockade?
The region has been designated a zone of peace under the Tlatelolco Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. The continued existence of the US military base at Guantanamo Bay contravenes this treaty. It is a constant threat to the peace and stability of Cuba and the entire region.
We therefore urge the US to join the majority of humanity’s people, in honoring the beacon of peace and progress that Cuba represents to the world and to retreat from the path of aggression manifested in this criminal blockade and the maintenance of the military base at Guantanamo.