Cape Town, 24 February 2026.- The Friendship Association with Cuba in South Africa, FOCUS, especially the Western Cape chapter, commemorated the 131st anniversary of the reigniting of the struggle for Cuban independence in a statement.
The statement recognizes the resilience of the Cuban people, who are not giving up today, just as they did not give up 131 years ago, when they had practically won the war against Spain and US imperialism intervened. For more than 60 years, Cuba fought to free itself from the Yankees, and in the current context, the Revolution has been fighting for more than 65 years against sanctions and blockades to maintain its achievements and the rights of the people. “Just as they could not defeat Cuba then, they will not be able to defeat Cuba now,” the text emphasizes.
The declaration also highlights that Cuba's sovereignty is non-negotiable. "No blockade, no sanctions, no act of economic warfare can extinguish a people forged in the anti-colonial struggle. The declaration of 24 February 1895 was not a moment in history; it was a permanent commitment to freedom.
Full statement here:
Statement on the anniversary of 24 February 1895
On 24 February 1895, the Cuban people rose in what José Martí called “La Guerra Necesaria” — the Necessary War — a decisive struggle to end Spanish colonial rule and secure Cuba’s full independence. It was not a war for reform; it was a war for sovereignty, dignity and the right of a people to determine their own destiny.
The patriots of 1895 understood that political independence without real sovereignty would be hollow. Their struggle was rooted in a clear principle: Cuba must never again be subordinated to foreign power.
More than a century later, that principle is under assault.
Today, Cuban sovereignty continues to be violated by the United States through an illegal and extraterritorial economic blockade, financial persecution, sanctions and coercive measures designed to suffocate the Cuban economy and manufacture hardship. This is not policy disagreement; it is structural violence. It is collective punishment. It is an attempt to break a nation that insists on charting its own path.
For over six decades, the blockade has sought to deny Cuba access to medicine, food, fuel, credit and trade. It is an act of economic warfare that the overwhelming majority of the international community condemns year after year at the United Nations.
And yet, as in 1895, Cuba endures.
The spirit that ignited the Necessary War lives on in a people who refuse surrender. From anti-colonial battlefields to international medical brigades, Cuba has consistently chosen solidarity over submission.
On this anniversary, we, the Friend of Cuba Society (FOCUS) Western Cape, affirm without hesitation: Cuba’s sovereignty is non-negotiable. No blockade, no sanction, no act of economic warfare can extinguish a people forged in anti-colonial struggle. The declaration of 24 February 1895 was not a moment in history; it was a permanent commitment to freedom. That commitment endures, and it will prevail.
(Cuban Embassy in South Africa)