Kuala Lumpur, February 16, 2026. Cuban Ambassador Yadira Ledesma Hernández thanked Cuba's friends in the Philippines, promoters of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers' Statement condemning the US Onslaught against Cuba and its oil supply.
In its text it reads:
The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) condemns in the strongest possible terms the executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump, which aims to suffocate the Cuban people by imposing tariffs on countries that, in the exercise of their sovereignty, supply oil and fuel to the Republic of Cuba.
The actions of the U.S. government continue to violate the United Nations Charter’s mandate of respect for the sovereign equality of states (Article 2), the self-determination of peoples (Article 1), as well as international norms governing trade relations.
The executive order, based on lies and falsely labeled by Trump as a “national emergency,” is a unilateral, coercive, and imperialistic measure that harks back to the Monroe Doctrine. The heightened U.S. attacks on the sovereignty of Cuba are reportedly aimed at forcible regime change, which would violate the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Trump’s order also violates the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, declared by CELAC and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2014; the numerous resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the “Need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba;” and the human rights of the Cuban people.
The illegal blockade imposed against Cuba by the United States has been in place for 67 years, and the executive order is an escalation designed to intensify the suffering of the Cuban people and impose an imperialist and colonialist agenda. Unilateral coercive measures, imposed without the approval of the UN Security Council, violate Article 41 of the UN Charter.
Moreover, the United States continues to illegally occupy the territory of the Guantánamo Naval Base, against the will of the Cuban people.
In view of this serious and dangerous situation that threatens Cuba and the peace and security of the continent, IADL:
- Demands that the U.S. government end the economic, financial, and commercial blockade against Cuba and the unilateral coercive measures. It also demands that the U.S. pay reparations to the Cuban people for the damages caused by the blockade.
- Demands that the U.S. open a dialogue leading to the return of the Cuban territory in Guantánamo to the Republic of Cuba.
- Urges the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to demand respect for the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, including the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs, and freedom of international trade and navigation, which are also recognized in other international legal instruments.
- Calls for international solidarity from states, legal professionals, and social movements to denounce this new escalation of hostilities, and to urge the preservation of peace and international relations based on respect and dialogue, without interference in the internal affairs of Cuba.
*(The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) is a global non-governmental organization (NGO) of progressive, left-wing jurists and national associations founded in 1946 in Paris. It holds consultative status with the UN (ECOSOC, UNESCO) and works to promote human rights, international peace, self-determination, and anti-imperialism).