"Our closest, most dignified, and most courageous friends are the peoples of the Caribbean," the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, recalled this essential phrase from Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz about the close ties of the Caribbean peoples, while summarize the meeting that he held on Wednesday night with the members of the Cuban state mission in Grenada and the solidarity organizations with the Greater Antilles.
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party concludes here, this Thursday, his stay in the Eastern Caribbean, where he also made official visits to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados, in addition, he participated, this December 6, in the VIII CARICOM-Summit Cuba.
Medical and construction brigades are currently collaborating in Granada. There are almost fifty professionals whom Díaz-Canel thanked for their support, on behalf of Cuba, for the advancement of the programs of the Granada government.
You, the Cuban President told them, are part of that creative resistance of the people of which you are a part, and that has allowed us to move forward in this period, not only resisting, but also advancing, he pointed out.
The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba made these statements after referring to the complex problems that have had to be faced in the last three years due to the intensification of the US blockade, the Covid-19 pandemic, the accumulated structural difficulties , and even large-scale accidents, among other setbacks, such as the recent passage of Hurricane Ian through the west of the country.
The President thanked the solidarity organizations of Grenada, made up of historical friends —of a lifetime—, graduates of study centers in the Greater Antilles and many other Grenadian men and women.
"You," he told them, "also feed the creative resistance of the Cuban people, because we know that we are not alone, that we have friends who are always supporting us and who have made the cause of Cuba the center of their lives."
The members of the Cuban delegation that have accompanied the President in the intense days of work in the English-speaking Caribbean, the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and the heads of Science, Technology and Environment participated in the exchange. Environment, Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya; Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda; and Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz.
Also part of the delegation are the president of Biocubafarma, Eduardo Martínez Díaz; Vice Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal Ferreiro; and Eugenio Martínez Enrique, general director of Latin America and the Caribbean of the Foreign Ministry, among other personalities.
Díaz-Canel's meeting with the medical and construction brigades that collaborate in Granada and with the solidarity movements, was moderated by the Cuban ambassador in this country, Luis E. Morejón Rodríguez, who introduced Terrence Markyshow, a legendary friend of Cuba who made an emotional speech on the historical relations between both peoples and governments.
The senator and also a close friend of the Greater Antilles, Peter David, referred to the commitment of the people and the government of Granada in the fight against the blockade and all the aggressions of the world hegemonic power against the Island of Liberty.
In the summary of the exchange, the President of Cuba pointed out that his stay in the three nations he visited has been marked by three elements: Fidel's legacy, solidarity and feelings.
We are excited to have found so much affection and recognition from our Caribbean sisters and brothers towards Cuba and the Revolution,” he said; It fills us with emotion that you tell us that we can always count on you for the defense of Cuba; We are excited that in the government of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell there are three ministers who studied university degrees in Cuba.
We are very moved that we are going to remember, in the memorial that is erected here in his honor, the 24 Cubans who, during the United States aggression against Grenada in 1983, defended and gave their blood for the Granada revolution, then led by Maurice Bishop.
We are excited that our delegation is also made up of a comrade who was working here in 1983, defended Grenada when the Yankee invaded, he was imprisoned for it, and now he is here with us. (Díaz-Canel was referring to Gilberto Bengochea, from the Translator and Interpreter Services Team —ESTI—, who helps him with Spanish-English translations; at 23 years of age, Bengochea works as a translator for the brigade that built the airport St. George International).
And we are excited to share with you —he finally exposed the auditorium—, proud of our collaborators in Granada and proud to have friends like you; sisters and brothers like you, with whom Cuba can always count.
(Taken from the Presidency of Cuba)