Thank you, Mr. President.
The truth is that, this morning, the delegation of the United States of America would have deserved a red card.
I would like to contribute to Permanent Representative Waltz's photo gallery with this image, which shows a blackout in the city of Havana caused by the United States' energy siege. Or this one, of a Cuban family whose child has just returned from school, still wearing his uniform, but living in darkness.
This photograph is dramatic, Mr. President. It shows an operating room being illuminated with the flashlight of a mobile phone. This is the result of the United States' energy siege. International humanitarian assistance has to be distributed in ox-drawn carts because of the United States' energy blockade.
Mr. Waltz referred to arbitrary detentions, human rights, repression, and other issues. I would like to show this photograph. It was not taken in Cuba, Mr. President; it was taken in the United States of America during an ICE raid.
You will not find a similar image in Cuba of such violent repression against demonstrators. Here, ICE officers are detaining a five-year-old child, Liam Conejo. This is the moment he is being restrained by an ICE agent. This did not happen in Cuba.
This woman will never be released from custody. She was a United States citizen, an honest working woman and devoted family member, because she was cruelly and coldly killed by ICE.
The representative of the United States referred to corruption. It is surprising to hear such remarks from a representative of the current U.S. administration, which is widely known for being a true plutocracy, marked by institutionalized and legalized corruption, the influence of so-called special interests, and multimillion-dollar election campaigns.
It is a country where money and corporations hold power, where voters are manipulated, where the justice system is used for political purposes, and where corruption and the politicization of justice prevail. It was there—not in Cuba—that the scandalous corruption within the Department of Homeland Security was exposed.
Mr. Waltz's slanderous references to Cuba's international medical cooperation offend the tens of thousands of doctors and healthcare workers who have dedicated themselves to serving low-income populations in remote areas. They also offend the representatives of the fifty recipient countries seated in this chamber today.
I will not respond to the statement made by the Czech Republic, because we have already had enough with two speeches from the United States; there is no need for a third.
The United States has denied the existence of the blockade. I invite Mr. Waltz to read the statements made by the White House Press Secretary on 30 March, or those made by the President of the United States the day before. They confirm the existence of the blockade, particularly the comprehensive restrictions on hydrocarbon supplies.
Other false and manipulative statements by the representative of the United States seek to undermine the dignity and the solid unity of our people as part of the unconventional cognitive aggression that has been unleashed against Cuba. They will not succeed.
An insignificant U.S. official has invoked names of universal stature and legacy. Mr. Waltz, before long, no one will remember who you are. Che Guevara will continue to be reborn in every Cuban who fights against the imperialism that you represent.
You offend our people by invoking the name of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, whom successive U.S. administrations were never able to defeat. In just a few weeks, Cuba and people around the world will commemorate the centenary of his birth.
You also made implicit reference to the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz. On his behalf, I reiterate that he still has "his foot in the stirrup," ready to ride in defense of our homeland.
You also referred to our President, a distinguished son of the Revolution, who—unlike you and many U.S. politicians—will share the same fate as the rest of our people should our country ever face imperialist aggression.
I reaffirm that Cuba will never surrender its sovereignty and independence, for which its finest sons and daughters have already given their lives.
As Antonio Maceo said, whoever attempts to seize Cuba will gather only the dust of its blood-soaked soil—if they do not perish in the struggle.
Thank you very much.