Madam Minister, Excellencies,
We thank the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for organizing this important event and for the opportunity to address such a highly relevant issue.
Our position is clear: unilateral coercive measures are illegal under all circumstances and, therefore, unacceptable. They constitute a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of the principles that underpin multilateralism.
They are incompatible with the legitimate right of peoples to peace and development. They violate the most fundamental human rights.
They not only affect the countries upon which they are imposed; they also impact third countries due to their extraterritorial nature and their deterrent and intimidating effects.
Nothing justifies their imposition. They must be eliminated—immediately and unconditionally.
The international community can and must do more to demand an end to all unilateral coercive measures.
Distinguished Delegates,
The Government of the United States continues to persist in the impossible—but pernicious—ambition of determining and controlling the destiny of Cuba and other countries.
It is an old aspiration rooted in the Monroe Doctrine, which defines the dominant and hegemonic nature of U.S. policy toward the region of Our America.
The blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba is the most far-reaching, comprehensive, and prolonged system of unilateral coercive measures ever applied against any country in history.
This blockade is not only an economic, financial, and commercial war that qualifies as a crime of genocide; it is also a political, technological, and communications blockade.
It seeks to deprive the country of financial income, collapse its economy, and create political and social instability. The damage is visible and undeniable. It affects the lives of all Cuban men and women.
It also harms many other nations. One need only read the infamous Helms-Burton Act to confirm that this legislation compels the President of the United States and U.S. government institutions to exert pressure on other countries, interfere in their relations with Cuba, extend their coercive reach extraterritorially, and impose it within the borders of other sovereign States.
The arbitrary and fraudulent inclusion of Cuba in the unilateral list issued by the U.S. Department of State of alleged States sponsoring terrorism further aggravates the effects of that inhumane policy.
Between March 2024 and February 2025 alone, the blockade caused estimated damages amounting to 7.556 billion U.S. dollars—a 49 percent increase compared to the previous year—with a severe impact on the rights to life, health, food, and education. Without the blockade, Cuba’s GDP at current prices would have grown by 9.2 percent in 2024.
The United Nations General Assembly will once again consider, on October 28 and 29, the draft resolution entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.” We are confident that it will once again receive the firm support of the international community.
Distinguished Delegates,
I conclude with an urgent warning. In the Caribbean Sea today, the threat of war looms around, marked by an extraordinary naval and air deployment—offensive in nature, absolutely unjustified—including missiles, landing and assault craft, and nuclear submarines.
The United States invokes the pretext of combating drug trafficking—a myth the no one believes.
We reaffirm our strong rejection of threats of aggression against Venezuela and our full support for the Bolivarian and Chavista government of that sister nation.
We call on the international community to take action to prevent aggression against Venezuela and to preserve Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
Thank you.