New York, September 26, 2026
Mr. President of the General Assembly:
Madam Deputy Secretary-General:
In approximately three hours, exactly 66 years will have passed since the words of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, in his memorable speech from this rostrum, which I quote:
“Let the philosophy of dispossession 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 attempt by the Government of the United States to impose peace through force is absurd and unfeasible. Fundamental pillars of International Law and of the United Nations, such as the sovereign equality of States, are under permanent attack.
The genocidal crime of Zionism against the Palestinian people, pirate attacks against vessels and extrajudicial executions in the Caribbean Sea and areas of the Pacific, the military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran are new manifestations of this atrocity.
They are also a reflection of the crisis of identity and relevance imposed upon the United Nations, including this General Assembly, the most universal, democratic and representative organ of the international community.
We are convinced of the indispensable need to preserve and strengthen the United Nations, while making it more democratic, effective and closer to peoples.
In Cuba, as is well known, we are facing a multidimensional aggression by the Government of the United States, a permanent, abusive and ruthless hostility that has lasted for nearly seven decades. Since January 2026, it has intensified and become more cruel and dangerous with the establishment of an energy blockade which, through intimidation and coercion, prohibits all countries from exporting fuel to Cuba, amounting to a naval blockade, classified under International Law as an act of war.
Through successive measures, the United States Government has been adding prohibitions applicable to all countries regarding products and services that may not be exported or transported to Cuba. More than 7,000 containers have been detained in various ports, many of them carrying food, medicines and medical devices, or even contracted by private Cuban companies.
In an unprecedented and extraordinary development, a superpower unilaterally deprives all States of the right to export whatever product they wish to whichever country they wish, and comprehensively and persistently violates freedom of trade and navigation.
Added to this is the intimidation of businesspeople from various countries to force them, against their will, to abandon their investments and businesses in Cuba; obstacles and traps intended to prevent the arrival of entirely legitimate commercial shipments; pressure to prevent the flow of visitors and tourists; and efforts aimed at limiting, to the greatest extent possible, Cuba’s legitimate access to financing, technology and markets.
It has reached the extreme of exerting unprecedented pressure on sovereign governments to renounce medical services that they requested from us, for the benefit of their respective populations and provided altruistically by Cuban professionals, because the United States Government opposes such cooperation, regardless of the effect or harm caused to populations deprived of free and quality medical care, that is, deprived of a basic human right. Last Thursday, the Department of State, meeting during this General Assembly, convened a humiliating meeting specifically with recipient States in order to exert pressure and make threats.
According to the Secretary of State, the official policy of the United States is to close every valve, avenue or formula for Cuba’s survival.
The impact of such a tight and ruthless siege has a human face. The economic war is directed against the people. It affects 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 inflict harm on what is most sensitive for Cuban families, to prevent their well-being and to wound the dignity of the people.
It is an act of collective punishment, a crime also prohibited by International Humanitarian Law. The evident and immediate objective is to induce a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, which also constitutes a crime.
The Government of the United States and the Department of State have had to acknowledge the suffering inflicted, but have the audacity and cynicism to insist on blaming the Government of Cuba. The executioner blames the victim.
They continue to follow the formula defined by the Department of State in 1960, in the infamous Mallory memorandum, which established as official policy, and continues to do so today, the overthrow of the Cuban Government through economic strangulation and the extreme suffering of the people caused by material deprivation, hunger and desperation.
The President of the United States declared from this rostrum a few days ago that Cuba is a failed State. If that were so, why then did they have to establish a fuel blockade, why did they impose secondary sanctions, why do they have to threaten, persecute and pressure every State on the planet? The President of the United States also acknowledged that his government is imposing the greatest pressure ever exerted on Cuba. Months earlier, he had said, and I quote: “the only thing left is to go in and destroy the place.”
The threat of the use of military force against Cuba persists, conduct that constitutes a violation of International Law and a grave contravention of the Charter of San Francisco.
If it were to materialize, it would constitute a crime of enormous magnitude. It would cause the deaths of Cubans and young Americans and immense destruction. We hope it never happens. Cuba would exercise, with all its determination and energy, its legitimate right to defend itself. This aggression is accompanied by a brutal media and cognitive warfare, directed not only against the Cuban people, but also against United States citizens and world public opinion. It is characterized by crude and blatant attempts at interference in Cuba’s internal affairs, which likewise constitutes another international crime.
We are asked what the United States seeks with such aggressive conduct. This is a question that often surprises us, since representatives of that government have openly declared their objective of seizing Cuba, controlling the country, dominating its economy, that is, of nullifying through aggression and economic strangulation the national sovereignty for which generations of Cubans have fought since the 19th century, first to achieve it and, since 1959, after attaining full freedom, to defend it tenaciously in the face of the greatest risks, including the risk of holocaust.
United States conduct rests on the false premise declared at the beginning of this year that Cuba constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, an absurdity that government repeats shamelessly. In a vain attempt to substantiate it, it floods the media with mendacious accusations through its spokespersons and publications that it commissions and pays for, taking advantage of the growing governmental control exercised by the United States over the major communications platforms. The U.S. President himself repeated this false premise in this chamber a few days ago.
Any minimally informed observer understands the fanciful and malicious nature of portraying a developing nation such as Cuba, relatively small and with a modest-performing economy, as a threat to the world’s greatest nuclear, military, technological and economic power.
This Organization and its Member States have abundant evidence that we are a country of peace, of Cuba’s efforts in favor of international cooperation, understanding and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and of the active role we have always played in support of the United Nations.
Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is!
Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is!
We have always been and remain ready for dialogue with the Government of the United States in an effort to find solutions to bilateral differences on the basis of seriousness, respect, sovereign equality, observance of International Law, non-interference in internal affairs, and without preconditions. We are open to trade and business relations with U.S. companies, just as we are with any other country.
We are aware of the immense challenge facing our nation with regard to its security, survival, the well-being of the people and the destiny of the Homeland. We do not face this challenge passively. We do so with firmness and dignity.
On that basis, we are advancing in a process of changes, profoundly transforming the economic and social model, rooted in our historical experience.
On July 30, during the Seventh Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said:
“Given the complex scenario I have described, how can we persist in building socialism, how can we find the financial and material resources to maintain the social achievements of the Revolution? Just as in previous, particularly complex stages, such as the Special Period, when, under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief, and subsequently under the leadership of the General of the Army, the economic model was transformed to adapt it to challenging external circumstances, in the current context we have proposed undertaking the transformations required by the moment, under the leadership of the Party, collectively and democratically, in consultation with the people, without compromising independence, national sovereignty, or the social achievements of the Revolution.” End of quote.
At that session, the National Assembly of People’s Power approved an innovative program, with new economic practices, actors and concepts. All of this is carried out within the framework of the Constitution in force, approved through a free and universal referendum; within the conception of our socialist State governed by the rule of law and social justice.
As the leader of the Cuban Revolution, General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, stated, the most important thing, and I quote, “will be proper and timely implementation, with clearly defined priorities and the conscious participation of the people.” End of quote.
This process rests on the strength we have managed to build, the potential of our human resources and the determination to respond to the needs of the people with the greatest possible social justice, without ever ceasing in our commitment to defend, in the most absolute and vigorous manner, sovereignty and the right to self-determination.
We know that we have the support of the international community and the solidarity of millions, including an increasing number of U.S. citizens. This is manifested in the repeated expressions and statements of support for Cuba and rejection of abusive aggression. It is expressed in the material solidarity assistance received by our people, which seeks to mitigate the enormous damage to the Cuban economy and society.
That spirit of solidarity and empathy is also expressed with particular force among Cubans who reside permanently or temporarily outside the national territory and among their descendants, particularly here in the United States.
Mr. President:
We reject the Monroe Doctrine and its Corollaries, just as we repudiate any attempt at militarization, intervention or imperialist domination in Latin America and the Caribbean, proclaimed a Zone of Peace in 2014, precisely in Havana.
As a small developing island State, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who share a similar condition and with their warning about the worrying and inexorable advance of climate change.
It is necessary to promote more inclusive governance of new information and telecommunications technologies, particularly disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence.
We reject the application of unilateral coercive measures. We express our support and solidarity with each and every one of the nations that are victims of them.
We reaffirm our solidarity with the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of Nicaragua.
We reiterate our support for the inalienable right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence.
The sister nations of Africa and the Caribbean deserve fair and differentiated treatment, as well as reparations for the horrors of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
We reaffirm our solidarity with the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination.
We reaffirm our support for the principle of “One China.”
We are convinced that the current course of international relations, characterized by disrespect for International Law, defiance of the United Nations, and the imposition of the unilateral will of the most powerful upon other countries through intimidation and coercion, is dangerous and unsustainable. The law of the jungle cannot be the future of Humanity.
It was to prevent such practices, in addition to promoting peace and justice, that the generations that preceded us founded the United Nations and, over decades, developed and sought to enrich its work. Let us restore its role, perhaps while there is still time, before the United Nations becomes part of history as an unrealized dream of great promises.
In the year of its centenary, let us trust, as Fidel Castro Ruz, historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, did, that, if we fight with determination, a better world will be possible.
Homeland or Death!
We shall overcome!
(Cubaminrex)