The aggression against Cuba is not about to materialize. It is not the danger of a possible future, but an act already in full execution.
It has been so for many years, in one way or another.
Its fundamental component is economic aggression, with the most comprehensive and prolonged coercive system ever known to humanity, applied by the government of the United States against several generations of Cuban men and women.
This aggression has escalated exponentially during the present year and continues to intensify.
The economic war imposed for more than six decades has been hardened in an unprecedented manner in recent months, with increasingly aggressive and ruthless measures.
The brutal energy siege, already extending for more than five months, remains intact, with devastating consequences for the functioning of the country and the life of our people.
Further reprisals have been announced, now with the imposition of so-called secondary sanctions against foreign individuals and entities that have had or currently maintain operations with Cuba, without receiving the necessary support or protection from their respective governments in the face of such blatant extraterritoriality.
These new and illegal coercive measures aim to strangle the Cuban economy and completely disconnect it from external sources of financing, foreign investment, and supplies of basic and essential goods for subsistence.
The cost to the economy and the functioning of the country is immense and transversal. It manifests in damage to electricity generation, public transportation, hospital services, industry, food production, the transfer and distribution of supplies for the population’s consumption, potable water supply, communal services—in short, practically all spheres of life in the country.
It is an aggressive, coldly calculated plan against a nation of scarce natural resources, subjected for nearly 70 years to an economic blockade that limits access to foreign currency income, external financing, markets, and technology. It is a plan to force an induced humanitarian crisis.
At the same time, new pretexts against Cuba are constantly fabricated, designed to justify the collective punishment being inflicted upon the Cuban people, and also an irresponsible armed action against the country.
The crude and fraudulent accusation against the leader of the Revolution, Raúl Castro, lacking any legal or moral basis and opportunistically sustained on an event from 30 years ago—an event entirely the responsibility of the U.S. government—is the most recent and crude pretext.
It adds to a long list of deliberately constructed falsehoods intended to present Cuba as a threat it is not, as a failed state it has never been, and to divert attention from the direct and fundamental responsibility of U.S. policy and the destructive effect of its aggression in the sustained deterioration and worsening of living conditions for the Cuban population.
Cuba does not threaten nor pose any threat to the United States, its national security, its system of government, or its way of life.
There are no foreign bases in Cuba, nor foreign forces acting against the U.S. from our territory.
It is immoral to argue that the danger of a humanitarian crisis could become a threat justifying military aggression or economic war, when it is known that this crisis is being provoked precisely by the U.S. government itself. It is cynical to claim that this crisis results from the alleged incompetence of the Cuban government or from intrinsic flaws in our economic model.
With increasing frequency, threats are wielded from the U.S. government, reflecting the clear intention to once again impose its control over Cuba’s destiny, as it did for 60 years in the past century, when it exercised total neocolonial domination over our country.
All this is combined with an intense communication and cognitive war, aimed at discrediting the Cuban government and holding it responsible for the critical situation the country is experiencing—one fostered by successive U.S. administrations.
From political circles, digital platforms, and established media, statements, analyses, and assessments are issued that reflect growing collusion and complicity with U.S. government efforts to normalize the idea of aggression and have it accepted by U.S. and international public opinion.
Each day, the danger of military aggression against Cuba grows.
There is no excuse that could justify military aggression against our country, which would inevitably cause destruction and the death of Cubans and Americans alike.
Cuba does not want conflict. We are, and have always been, a country of peace, of solidarity, fostering relations of respect and friendship with other countries and peoples of the world, including the people of the United States.
As recently stated by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez: “We are a country of peace. We do not promote war, we do not like war, we foster solidarity, cooperation among peoples, but we are willing to defend that peace we desire.”
We want peace, but not a peace without sovereignty, without independence, in which Cubans are not masters of the national wealth, in which the country is subjected to U.S. tutelage and the economy returns to a dependent relationship with the U.S. economy.
That peace we do not accept.
If we were attacked, if war we do not want were imposed upon us, we would face it with determination and preparation, resolutely decided to defend our sovereignty and independence at any cost.
We have been and remain willing to dialogue with the U.S. government, to seek understanding and solutions to bilateral problems. Not for interference in our internal affairs; not for the U.S. to pretend to define Cuba’s constitutional order, nor who can or cannot govern; not for the U.S. to determine the country’s economic model; not for the U.S. to impose a relationship of dependency; not for the U.S. to attempt to dominate Cuba’s destiny through pressure, coercion, and the threat of military aggression.
We hope that the path of dialogue prevails at this moment, when the aggressive actions undertaken by the U.S. government against Cuba cast doubt on the seriousness and responsibility with which it approaches this process.
We assume that the international community cannot passively contemplate the deprivation of an entire people’s means of livelihood, the continued punishment of an entire population for motives of domination, and the military threat against a country without any justification.
We know that Cuba is not alone in this struggle. We are witnesses to countless expressions of solidarity and support, many in the form of valuable material aid, received from governments, parliaments, political forces, personalities, NGOs from diverse social sectors, Cubans residing abroad, solidarity groups, individuals, and international organizations—to whom the Cuban people reiterate their deepest gratitude.
In the face of the U.S. onslaught against Cuba, its government’s total disregard for International Law and the most basic norms of coexistence among nations, it is imperative that the international community reaffirm solidarity with Cuba, at this critical hour when great dangers loom over the Cuban nation.
As our National Hero José Martí warned, when speaking of the dangers of expansionism from the nascent U.S. imperialism over Our America: “He who rises today with Cuba, rises for all time.”
¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre!