Cairo, September 29, 2026. Egyptian media highlighted the remarks made by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez at the High-Level Segment of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In his remarks, the Cuban diplomat highlighted the words of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz from 66 years ago, in a memorable speech at the UN podium when he stated: “Let the philosophy of plunder disappear, and the philosophy of war will have disappeared! Let the colonies disappear, let the exploitation of countries by monopolies disappear, and then humanity will have reached a true stage of progress!”
However, the advance of expansionism, acts of usurpation and conquest, and military and economic aggression are alarming. The U.S. government’s claim to impose peace through force is absurd and unachievable. Fundamental pillars of international law and the United Nations, such as sovereign equality among states, are under constant attack,” affirmed the Foreign Minister of the Greater Antilles.
He also denounced that Cuba faces multidimensional aggression from the U.S. government—a permanent, abusive, and ruthless hostility that has lasted for nearly seven decades. This aggression has intensified since January 2026 and has become more cruel and dangerous with the establishment of an energy blockade that, through intimidation and coercion, prohibits all countries from exporting fuel to Cuba—an act equivalent to a naval blockade, which is classified under international law as an act of war.
Rodríguez Parrilla stated that through successive measures, the U.S. government has been imposing prohibitions on all countries regarding products and services that cannot be exported or transported to Cuba. More than 7,000 containers have been detained at various ports, many of them containing food, medicines, and medical devices, or even contracted by private Cuban companies. In an unusual and unprecedented move, a superpower is unilaterally depriving all states of the right to export whatever products they wish to whatever country they wish, and is comprehensively and persistently violating the freedom of trade and navigation.
The Foreign Minister emphasized that the impact of such a strict and ruthless blockade has a human face. The economic war is directed against the people. It falls upon the Cuban population as a whole. It claims lives, causes individual and collective suffering, and generates anguish. It is not “collateral damage.” It is a policy deliberately designed to strike Cuban families where it hurts most, to prevent their well-being, and to undermine the dignity of the people.
The head of Cuban diplomacy warned of the persistent threat of the use of military force against Cuba, conduct that constitutes a violation of international law and a serious breach of the Charter of San Francisco. If it were to materialize, it would constitute a crime of immense proportions. It would result in the deaths of Cubans and young Americans and cause enormous destruction. We hope it never happens. Cuba would exercise its legitimate right to defend itself with all its determination and energy. Cuba is not a threat to the United States; the blockade is.
The Foreign Minister’s remarks included a condemnation of the genocidal crimes of Zionism against the Palestinian people, pirate attacks on vessels and extrajudicial executions in the Caribbean Sea and parts of the Pacific, military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Rodríguez Parrilla concluded by stating that Cuba is convinced that the current course of international relations—marked by disregard for international law, defiance of the United Nations, and the imposition of the most powerful nations’ unilateral will on other countries through intimidation and coercion—is dangerous and unsustainable. The law of the jungle cannot be the future of humanity. He called for a restoration of the UN’s role, now that there may still be time, before the United Nations goes down in history as an unfulfilled dream of grand promises. (Embacuba Egipto)