Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, at the United Nations General Assembly debate on agenda item 38, “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba”:
Mr. President, Excellencies, Permanent Representatives, distinguished delegates:
The United States government is waging a multidimensional, unconventional war against Cuba—a war that has lasted nearly seven decades and has become harsher and more ruthless over the past seven months.
Now, an energy blockade has been added to the mix; equivalent to a naval blockade, this constitutes an act of war. Cuba is being denied access to fuel supplies—whether commercial or humanitarian—through direct threats, unilateral coercive measures, and even the harassment or intimidation of oil tankers by U.S. naval military assets.
Repeated threats of military aggression have been issued by the highest levels of the U.S. government, and public sources describe various war options and preparations.
Compounding the economic, commercial, and financial blockade are unprecedented actions of an extreme extraterritorial nature—such as the use of secondary sanctions. These measures follow a macabre plan to trigger a humanitarian crisis and total destabilization in Cuba, thereby paving the way for, or forcing, a presidential order for an imperialist military intervention—an action that would result in a bloodbath and massive loss of life for both Cubans and Americans.
When asked whether economic pressure on Cuba would continue to intensify, President Donald Trump himself replied—and I quote: “I don’t think much more pressure can be applied, short of going in and destroying the place.”
In recent months, the humanitarian harm inflicted on our population has multiplied, manifesting in a deteriorating quality of life, reduced means of subsistence, constraints on personal, family, and social development potential, and the massive, flagrant, and systematic violation of the human rights of an entire people—an act of collective punishment.
These are matters of great importance and urgency that merit not only the attention but also a clear pronouncement from the United Nations and its most universal and representative body, the General Assembly, in keeping with its mandate to preserve international peace and security and ensure the enjoyment of human rights.
Cuban families—especially children, young people, and mothers—endure the suffering caused by prolonged and unbearable blackouts or power outages. Often, when the electricity goes out, the water supply fails as well. They know the anguish of lacking medication for a sick loved one. They are burdened by food shortages and the high prices of basic necessities.
The infant mortality rate has risen from 4.0 to 9.9 per 1,000 live births. This represents the preventable deaths—had suitable equipment, devices, and treatments been available—of 1,780 newborns. The number of people dying from cancer in the country has increased significantly. Among children and young people, survival rates have dropped from 85% to 65%. This trend coincides with the harshest periods of the U.S. blockade.
The blockade stifles and kills silently. Addressing this ruthless crime is also a responsibility of the United Nations.
The United States government—and the State Department in particular—spreads the lie that the blockade is not directed against the Cuban people, but only against the government. Ask the people of Cuba whether or not they suffer the effects of the blockade. Ask the diplomats, correspondents, and other foreigners living in Cuba as well.
We have just heard the shameless intervention of the United States delegate, an instance of procedural abuse. He did not address any of the issues I have raised.
This comes as no surprise, for he represents the government that carried out the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the government responsible for dozens of military interventions and for propping up the bloodiest military dictatorships in Latin America and other regions.
This is the government complicit in the genocide occurring in Gaza and in the university crackdowns on professors and students who protested against it. It is the government behind the political militarization of cities, the brutal repression of immigrants, police manhunts targeting them, and the separation of young children from their families.
This comes as no surprise, given that the delegate represents the government responsible for dozens of extrajudicial killings in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the Caribbean—carried out under the pretext of combating unproven international crimes.
These are the authorities responsible for police brutality against protesters in this country and for the significant rise in deaths while in custody.
He represents the government responsible for a racially disparate pattern that brutally discriminates against minorities—particularly African American and Hispanic communities—and for maintaining the largest prison population on the planet, within a penal and correctional system rooted in racially disparate practices.
He also represents the government that pays women lower wages than men for the same work.
I was taken aback by the violation of this Assembly’s rules of procedure and by having to listen to that speech before the Assembly had even agreed to hold a debate.
I do not know if we will hear another statement from the United States—which, curiously, was the first country to sign up on the list of speakers, despite having just objected to this debate taking place.
The cynicism of the U.S. delegation in this hall is profound. It delivered a substantive statement filled with threadbare lies in an attempt to censor the Assembly’s right to debate precisely these issues.
The very party that abused the rules of procedure to make substantive—albeit slanderous—allegations was, moments earlier (or even while doing so), arguing against the holding of this debate.
It sought to infringe upon the General Assembly’s right to address this very topic. It attempted an act of censorship—something that might pass in a Green Beret camp, but not in this august chamber.
I do not know if, during this session, we will once again hear the U.S. government’s tired argument claiming that the fuel blockade against Cuba does not exist; that the blockade is merely a pretext used by the Cuban government to explain its problems; and that the United States is simply exercising its right to refuse to trade with Cuba and to enforce a straightforward bilateral embargo.
It is a fallacy that cannot withstand the slightest scrutiny—one that contradicts the actions of the U.S. government regarding Cuba and regarding all the states you represent. It is a lie that no one—save perhaps the delegate who spoke—believes, provided they possess even a modicum of information or decency; qualities he may well lack.
The damage caused by the blockade—and I will provide new figures here—during the period from March 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026, amounts to a record $8.083 billion at current prices, a 7% increase over the previous year. The cumulative impact since its inception totals $178.7 billion at current prices.
Naturally, these figures do not include the extreme impact of the total blockade on fuel supplies to Cuba, which began in that very month of February.
These impacts are primarily the result of extraterritorial coercive actions that violate the norms of international law, international trade, and freedom of navigation, while also infringing upon the sovereign prerogatives of the independent states you represent—specifically, your right to engage with Cuba in accordance with your own interests and laws.
Compounding the brutal energy blockade are other measures imposed throughout the year with the same objective: compelling sovereign governments to comply with the illegitimate prohibitions the United States imposes regarding trade with Cuba.
The United States government pressures sovereign states, citizens, and businesspeople to abandon their ties to Cuba—not out of self-interest, commercial disadvantage, or even mandates from their own governments, but rather at the behest of a foreign regime (in this case, that of the United States), which is supposed to have neither jurisdiction nor authority over the activities of citizens and businesspeople outside its borders.
As a free, independent, and sovereign state, Cuba rejects the notion that another country should dictate the form of government, economic model, and foreign relations our nation must adopt.
Should the United States delegation decide to repeat its intervention, we will likely hear the deceitful arguments—already foreshadowed by the delegate—that the U.S. government habitually employs to justify the crime of genocide.
They would cite, as purported evidence, figures regarding highly regulated, selective U.S. exports to Cuba—exports that depend on licenses or permits from that country’s government, in violation of universally accepted rules of trade and freedom of navigation, and which are now restricted almost exclusively to the private sector, a sector that also faces limitations on its economic ties with U.S. counterparts.
These exports do nothing to resolve the major problems causing shortages and suffering for our people. They do not help—because the U.S. government does not allow it—to restore electricity generation capacity or the potable water supply.
The U.S. government does not permit exports that would support the development of public transport, ensure hospital services, benefit education, or even safeguard food supplies for the most vulnerable segments of the population.
The delegate failed to mention that the United States government offered humanitarian aid—an offer immediately accepted by the Cuban government weeks ago—which has since been delayed and restricted in scope for political reasons.
Nor did he mention that the U.S. delegation to the World Food Programme found itself isolated during a vote in its attempt to block a $116 million food aid program for Cuba. The U.S. delegation repeatedly cites the alleged incompetence of the Cuban government in an attempt to justify its position.
Anyone present here might rightly ask: how can the government of a country be blamed for the problems mentioned by the distinguished U.S. delegate—a country against which his government enforces a genocidal blockade, which has endured that economic aggression for nearly 70 years, and which has—despite it all—achieved significant social progress and human development? How can the Cuban government be held responsible for the consequences of the total deprivation of fuel and other essential supplies imposed over the last seven months? And how can one fail to acknowledge that, despite this, stability remains in Cuba, there is no large-scale humanitarian crisis, and the defense of our people has never—and will never—waver?
We are heartened and encouraged by collective solidarity, participation, and the efforts of all—particularly women and young people in our communities—in seeking solutions, as well as by the intense and tireless work of the Party, the State, the Government, local bodies of People's Power, community delegates, and civil society organizations.
Our people draw hope from the recent, profound, and truly sovereign economic and social transformations adopted by our National Assembly to adapt the Cuban socialist model to harsh current realities, including the brutal and escalating aggression by the United States.
We are grateful for the broad international support and cooperation from numerous governments, parliaments, political forces, organizations, solidarity movements, and associations of Cubans living abroad.
The hostility and threats Cuba faces today are part of a worrying pattern of violations of international law and serve as a prelude to what could happen to any other country tomorrow.
We must ask ourselves in this Assembly whether this is the new world order toward which we are heading. We must reflect on whether such an order would be consistent with the principles and the very purpose of this organization; whether this is the path that will safeguard international peace and security, promote understanding among equally sovereign states, and foster cooperation, trade, development, and respect for human rights.
It is essential to prevent this pattern of domination, plunder, occupation, dispossession, and cognitive warfare from becoming embedded in an international order even worse than that of recent decades.
It is imperative to uphold the founding values of the United Nations, international law, and the UN Charter, and to honor the pledge to save present and future generations from the scourge of war.
Bilateral diplomatic talks are underway—proposed by the United States government and accepted by Cuba in keeping with its foreign policy traditions and principles—with the sincere and constructive aim of seeking solutions to bilateral differences. However, they show no signs of progress, and such progress is unlikely if those steering the process in Washington expect to treat Cuba as a defeated or conquered adversary, or as a colonial possession or territory over which the United States holds jurisdiction and authority.
Data confirm that this aggressive conduct does not reflect the interests of the majority of U.S. citizens. According to a study concluded yesterday, 98.3% of posts and comments on digital networks in the United States do not support the energy blockade, the embargo, or aggression against Cuba. That genocidal and criminal policy is driven by the anti-Cuban, vengeful whims of a tiny yet powerful and influential segment—concentrated primarily in southern Florida—that demonstrates the ability to manipulate the U.S. political system and steer the actions of the current administration.
I do not know if the United States delegation will repeat, in the coming minutes, the ridiculous argument that Cuba poses a threat to the national security of the planet's greatest military and nuclear power—a power that is aggressive, predatory, and driven to impose peace through force.
There is no statement from the Cuban government, nor any evidence or even the slightest indication, that Cuba has ever intended to threaten the United States. No activity can be identified in Cuba that jeopardizes the national security, the well-being of the citizens, or the economic competitiveness of that powerful neighbor.
Cuba is not a threat. The blockade is. It is Cuba that is under threat.
Yet, we are a nation committed to—and a defender of—peace, international law, multilateralism, truth, and justice.
A people that has spent over 150 years fighting for its freedom and independence—and that has written glorious chapters by standing tall against every onslaught—will staunchly defend its independence and sovereignty.
In the centenary year of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, and remaining true to his legacy, the decision of the Cuban people will always be:
Homeland or Death. We shall prevail.