New York, 27 September 2025.- While we deliberate here, 2.2 million human beings in Gaza are condemned to hunger by the acts of genocide, extermination, and ethnic cleansing carried out by the Zionist regime, which enjoys military and financial supplies and the impunity guaranteed by the government of the United States.
On behalf of the Government and people of Cuba, I reiterate our firmest solidarity with the Palestinian people and with their just cause for freedom, independence, and an end to the Zionist occupation.
If the Security Council proves impotent due to the veto that the United States exercises or threatens to exercise, and is unable to adopt effective measures to halt the barbarism, this General Assembly has both the duty and the capacity to promote concrete measures without delay.
At the very least, it must unequivocally declare Palestine’s right to be a full member of the United Nations, within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return for refugees.
Eleven million people—three million of them children—die each year from hunger and related diseases. The climate crisis is destroying nations and lives, devastating communities and economies. A handful of countries and individuals amass more wealth than the vast majority of our nations combined. Colossal inequalities impede and block sustainable development.
There has been no effective global response to the grave challenges we face today. Nor could there be, because the current world order reflects a bygone era, when most developing countries did not even exist as independent States. Eighty years ago, the United Nations was founded with just 51 Member States. Today, we are 193.
The most urgent priority is to establish a new international order that guarantees peace, the right to development, sovereign equality, and the participation and representation of developing countries in global policy decisions; an order that provides the common good and prosperity in harmony with nature, and ensures the exercise of all human rights for all people.
We must aspire to a new civilized coexistence, where solidarity, international cooperation, and the peaceful settlement of disputes prevail as alternatives to war, the use of force, aggression, and occupation; a coexistence opposed to the aspirations of unipolar domination and hegemony. An order without blockades or unilateral coercive measures, based on multilateralism and full respect for the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
Despite its limitations, the United Nations remains the most representative body of the international community. We have the duty to protect and strengthen it in its intergovernmental essence, in its democratic foundations, which must not be diluted into generalized agendas subject to arbitrary priorities and rules imposed by those who provide the most funding.
It is necessary to underscore the central role of the General Assembly as the most democratic and representative organ of this Organization.
The “UN80” initiative launched by the Secretary-General must have as its main objective the strengthening of the intergovernmental character of the United Nations and its capacity to better confront the pressing challenges of our time.
We must reject the threatening proposal of a new doctrine called “peace through strength,” which amounts to imposing upon all the arbitrary will of U.S. imperialism through threats, coercion, and aggression.
It is a doctrine conceived to satisfy the ambitions of a unipolar power already in decline, serving the interests of major transnational corporations at the expense of the rights of sovereign nations and their peoples, and of the very values upon which this Organization was founded.
In the Caribbean Sea today, the threat of war looms, with an extraordinary, offensive, and entirely unjustified naval and air deployment, including missiles, landing and assault means, and nuclear submarines.
Ballistic missiles with nuclear capacity are being tested. The United States uses the pretext of combating crime and drug trafficking—a legend that no one believes.
The attack and destruction of unidentified vessels, the murder or extrajudicial execution of civilians, the interception of fishing boats, and other aggressive actions by the United States create a dangerous situation that violates international law and threatens regional peace and security.
We reaffirm our strong rejection of the threats of aggression against Venezuela and our total support for the Bolivarian and Chavista government of that sister Latin American and Caribbean nation, and for the Civic-Military Union led by its legitimate President Nicolás Maduro Moros.
We repudiate the Monroe Doctrine and all attempts at militarization, intervention, or imperial domination in Latin America and the Caribbean, proclaimed a Zone of Peace in January 2014 in Havana by the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
The accelerated arms race entails a competition in the field of death and destruction, employing vast financial and material resources that could be devoted to poverty alleviation, development, and cooperation.
Meanwhile, the meager goals of the 2030 Agenda will not be met; the commitments of Official Development Assistance are ignored, and financing to address climate change is decreasing.
In 1960, before this very Assembly, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, stated—and I quote: “Let the philosophy of plunder disappear, and the philosophy of war will have disappeared.” End of quote.
Madam President:
Climate change is advancing inexorably and rapidly. The first six months of this year have been the warmest on record. Last year had already been the year with the highest temperatures. From this very podium today, even science and decades of collective work to protect the planet are being questioned.
If the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption under capitalism are not fundamentally changed, we will exceed the fateful threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius before 2030.
The external debt of developing countries, already paid several times, continues to grow, accumulating astronomical interest figures as a new form of colonization. It is necessary to implement the commitments made at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, with additional resources and a specific multilateral mechanism for debt negotiation.
We suffer the consequences of powerful cultural domination in an era in which digital technology increasingly and integrally impacts our lives. A few transnational corporations, almost all American, impose their operating systems and control the content we see, read, and hear, manipulating human behavior. We suffer from the dictatorship of the algorithm.
We need to establish common rules at the UN as soon as possible to unleash the transformative potential of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, for the benefit of all, while simultaneously mitigating the risks.
In addition to the challenges Cuba faces as a small developing island state, our country suffers the devastating and cumulative impact of the policy of hostility and economic suffocation imposed by the United States for more than six decades.
The blockade against Cuba persists and has become extremely severe. It is a true comprehensive and prolonged economic war, aimed at depriving Cubans of their livelihoods and sustainability, of their existence as a supportive, cultured, and joyful people. Anyone who claims otherwise lies deliberately. The very promoters of this war boast of its destructive effect and its ability to strike the standard of living of an entire people from any corner of the planet.
Aggression has escalated to unprecedented levels over the past eight years, including actions of persecution and economic pressure on third parties, the States you represent, and these actions have become increasingly sophisticated, surgical, and extraterritorial. They create multiple and extraordinary obstacles to productive, commercial, and financial activity, as well as to services and policies that guarantee social justice and life itself.
Today, Cuba faces a severe scenario of prolonged and daily electricity outages, difficulties in affording food, insufficient availability of medicines, a depressed public transportation system, limitations in communal services, and pronounced inflation that depresses real incomes.
In 1960, the Under Secretary of State, Lester Mallory, drafted the infamous memorandum of coercion and blockade against Cuba that has guided the conduct of the U.S. government throughout all these years and continues to guide it today. It read verbatim, and I quote: “…all possible means must be rapidly employed to weaken the economic life of Cuba… a line of action that… achieves the greatest progress in depriving Cuba of money and supplies, reducing its financial resources and real wages, causing hunger, despair, and the overthrow of the government.” End of quote.
The U.S. Secretary of State today is the reincarnation of that macabre individual.
Madam President:
Cuba is a country that has been a victim of terrorism and was for decades a victim of U.S. state terrorism. For years and even today, terrorist acts against our country are organized and financed from U.S. territory. Recognized perpetrators of horrendous acts of aggression against the Cuban people live here, safely and with absolute impunity, resulting in thousands of deaths, mutilations, and considerable material damage.
In fulfillment of its responsibilities against terrorism, and in line with UN efforts against this scourge, the Cuban government has officially shared in recent years with the United States government the names and details of 62 individuals and 20 organizations residing in that country who have been responsible for violent and terrorist acts, and who, from this territory, still participate in acts of that nature against Cuba. No response has been received, and it is unknown whether U.S. authorities have taken any action against any of them.
It is cynical that the U.S. government, for purposes of political and economic coercion, labels Cuba as a State sponsor of terrorism, a slander not shared by this Organization or by any other of its Member States. Many national institutions, both banking, financial, and commercial, in almost all the countries represented here, are intimidated by this false designation by the U.S. government. Because of it, their banks often avoid engaging with Cuban entities, offering us credit, supporting our commercial activities, or processing our bank transfers.
Added to this is the intimidation of citizens from more than 40 countries whom the U.S. government threatens with reprisals if, by their rights, they decide to visit Cuba. The United States has unleashed a virulent campaign of discredit and persecution against Cuban medical cooperation, and harassment and coercion against the authorities of the countries receiving it. It is a strategy directed directly from the State Department.
It seeks to denigrate this cooperation, which has saved millions of lives and, in many cases, has been the only access to health services for large population groups.
This altruistic and supportive cooperation rests on absolutely legitimate bilateral agreements and fully corresponds with international standards in cooperation of this and other international organizations.
I reaffirm, once again, that Cuba will maintain its commitments with all countries with which it has bilateral medical cooperation agreements and programs, and will even be willing to expand it with all governments willing to develop it, respecting International Law and its national legislation, for the welfare of their peoples.
Since 1963, almost the same period as Mr. Mallory’s Memorandum, 605,000 doctors and specialists have performed, in dozens of countries, over 17 million surgical interventions and more than 5 million births. Currently, more than 24,000 health professionals provide and will provide services in 56 countries.
The aggression against Cuba is reinforced by a powerful destabilization machinery that, from U.S. territory and with funding from that country’s federal budget, imposes an offensive aimed at disturbing citizen tranquility, promoting acts of violence, disorienting the population, and discrediting our country.
It is an unconventional war strategy that combines emotional manipulation with information poisoning to try to impose a climate of hopelessness and political demobilization.
Faced with such an asymmetric assault, the determination of our people is strengthened. We are aware of the great challenges we face and the need to steer, with creativity and everyone’s participation, economic recovery and to strengthen the well-known and effective social policies.
Last July, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, and I quote: “We are not an accident of history. We are the logical consequence of a history of resistance and rebellion against abuse and injustice.” End of quote.
We will not cease in our effort to build our dreams of a socialist country, better and more prosperous for all, based on the constitutional order freely chosen by our people, which guarantees sovereignty, national and cultural identity, and reflects the dream of the Apostle José Martí, summarized in his memorable aspirations, and I quote: “the Cubans’ devotion to the full dignity of man” and “to achieve all justice.”
We have designed a realistic economic recovery program, adapted to the very peculiar and extraordinary conditions of our country, fully aware that we must overcome the devastating impacts of the blockade, address the shortcomings of the current economic structure, and I quote, “change everything that must be changed.” We avoid illusions, but the results are already beginning to be felt at the macroeconomic level, even though they are not yet reflected in everyday life nor perceived by families.
Cuba is a nation of peace. Despite all the damage the United States has caused and continues to cause us, we have always been willing to engage in dialogue without conditions, and to try to advance toward a respectful and civilized relationship with that country, without subordination or limits to our sovereign prerogatives. Both peoples would benefit from that opportunity.
A considerable number of Cubans live here in the United States, many of whom today feel threatened, as they have been vilely betrayed by politicians who have made a career, especially in Miami, and who have enriched themselves, supposedly representing them. With the perennial sowing of hatred and political manipulation, these politicians now opportunistically support xenophobic, racist, and repressive measures of intimidation and retaliation that are unjustly applied against them.
This occurs, in particular, within the Department of State.
It should not be forgotten that the vast majority of Cubans have come to this country over more than 60 years, driven by the conditions created by the blockade, and attracted by the privilege of politically motivated laws and practices of encouragement, reception, and protection, regardless of whether they emigrated regularly or not.
Madam President:
We reaffirm our commitment as a partner country of the BRICS.
We reject the application of unilateral coercive measures that seek to subjugate the sovereign will of peoples. We express our support for Belarus, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, Russia, and other nations victimized by such measures. 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 the Caribbean deserve fair and differentiated treatment, as well as reparations for the horrors of colonialism and slavery.
The international community has a great responsibility toward the Haitian people. We maintain our modest health cooperation with that sister country, and Cuba will join any international effort to support it, based on respect for its sovereignty, without impositions or military interventions.
We support Argentina’s legitimate and sovereign claim over the Falkland Islands, South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia, and their surrounding maritime spaces.
Cuba remains committed to peace in Colombia and today expresses solidarity with President Gustavo Petro.
Africa, cradle of Humanity, can always count on Cuba and the solidarity of the Cuban people. We support its just claim for reparations for the damages of colonization. We reaffirm our solidarity with the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination. We reaffirm our support for the “One China” principle.
We oppose NATO’s aggressive military and nuclear doctrines.
We firmly believe, without utopia, that a better world is possible. We believe in the duty to fight and work to achieve it.
I reiterate the words of President Raúl Castro Ruz, spoken from this podium in September 2015, and I quote:
“The international community can always count on the sincere voice of Cuba against injustice, inequality, underdevelopment, discrimination, and manipulation, and for the establishment of a more just and equitable international order, in which the human being, their dignity and well-being, truly occupy the center.”
Thank you very much.