Statement by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, during the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. New York, September 27, 2025
Madam President of the General Assembly; Mr. Secretary-General:
As we deliberate here, 2.2 million human beings in Gaza are condemned to starvation by the actions of genocide, extermination, and ethnic cleansing carried out by the Zionist regime, which has the military and financial supplies and impunity guaranteed by the United States government.
On behalf of the government and people of Cuba, I reiterate our strongest solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause for freedom, independence, and an end to the Zionist occupation.
If the Security Council proves powerless due to the veto that the United States exercises or threatens to exercise, and is unable to take effective measures to stop the barbarism, this General Assembly has 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 member state of the UN, within the pre-1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem and the right of return for refugees.
Eleven million people, including three million children, die every year from hunger and related diseases. The climate crisis is destroying nations and lives, devastating communities and economies. A handful of countries and individuals accumulate more wealth than the vast majority of all our countries combined. Colossal inequalities slow down and prevent sustainable development.
There has been no effective global response to today’s serious challenges. There could not 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 UN was founded with just 51 Member States. Today there are 193.
The most urgent priority is to create 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; that provides for the common good and prosperity in harmony with nature; and that ensures the exercise of all human rights for all people.
Let us aspire to a new civilized coexistence, in which solidarity, international cooperation, and the peaceful settlement of disputes prevail as alternatives to war, the use of force, aggression, and occupation; a new coexistence opposed to aspirations of unipolar domination and hegemony. An order without blockades or unilateral coercive measures, based on multilateralism and with full respect for the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
Even with its limitations, the United Nations remains the most representative body of the international community. We have a duty to protect and strengthen it, in its intergovernmental essence, in its democratic foundations that cannot be diluted by generalized agendas, subject to capricious priorities and rules imposed by those who provide the most funding.
It is necessary to highlight the central role of the General Assembly as its most democratic and representative body.
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 face the pressing challenges of the present.
We must reject the threatening proposal of a new doctrine called “peace through strength,” which amounts to imposing the arbitrary will of U.S. imperialism on everyone through the use of threats, coercion, and aggression.
It is a doctrine designed to satisfy the ambitions of a unipolar power already in decline, which also serves the interests of large transnational corporations at the expense of the rights of sovereign nations and their peoples, and of the values on which this Organization was built.
In the Caribbean Sea, the threat of war looms today, with an extraordinary naval and air deployment of an offensive nature, absolutely unjustified, with missiles and means of landing and assault, and nuclear submarines.
Ballistic missiles with nuclear capability are being test-fired. The United States uses the pretext of combating crime and drug trafficking, a myth that no one believes.
The attack and destruction of boats with no identification or known destination, the murder or extrajudicial execution of civilians, the interception of boats or fishing vessels, and the aggressive actions of the United States create a dangerous situation that violates international law and threatens regional peace and security.
We reaffirm our strong rejection of threats of aggression against Venezuela and our full support for the Bolivarian and Chavista government of that sister Latin American and Caribbean nation and for the Popular-Military Union led by the legitimate president Nicolás Maduro Moros.
We repudiate the Monroe Doctrine and any attempt at militarization, intervention, or imperialist domination in Latin America and the Caribbean, proclaimed a Zone of Peace in January 2014 in Havana with the signing of the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
The accelerated arms race entails competition in the field of death and destruction, with the use of extraordinary financial and material resources that could be allocated to poverty alleviation, development, and cooperation.
Meanwhile, the meager goals of the 2030 Agenda cannot be met; Official Development Assistance commitments are ignored, and funding for tackling climate change is declining.
In 1960, before this very Assembly, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, said, and I quote: “Let the philosophy of dispossession disappear, and the philosophy of war will disappear.”
Madam President:
Climate change is advancing inexorably and rapidly. The first six months of this year have been the warmest on record. Last year was already the hottest on record. Today, even from this very podium, science and decades of collective work to protect the planet are being questioned.
If the unsustainable production and consumption patterns of capitalism are not radically changed, we will exceed the fateful threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius before 2030.
The external debt of developing countries, already paid several times over, is growing and accumulating astronomical amounts of interest as a new form of colonization. The commitments made at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development must be implemented, 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 is impacting our lives in an increasingly accelerated and comprehensive manner. A few transnational corporations, almost all of them American, impose their operating systems and control the content that is seen, read, and heard, manipulating human behavior. We suffer the dictatorship of the algorithm.
We need to establish common standards at the UN as soon as possible to unleash the transformative potential of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, for the benefit of all, while mitigating the risks.
In addition to the challenges Cuba faces as a small developing island nation, 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 is becoming extremely harsh. This is a true, comprehensive, and prolonged economic war, aimed at depriving Cubans of their livelihoods and sustainability, of their existence as a united, cultured, and joyful people.
Anyone who claims otherwise is deliberately lying. The very promoters of this war boast of its destructive effect and its ability to strike at the standard of living of an entire people from any corner of the planet.
The aggression has escalated to unprecedented levels in the last eight years, including actions of persecution and economic pressure on third parties, the States that you represent, which are increasingly elaborate, surgical, and extraterritorial. It causes multiple and extraordinary impediments to productive, commercial, and financial activity, as well as to the services and policies that guarantee social justice and life itself.
Cuba today faces a serious situation of prolonged and daily power cuts, difficulties in affording food, insufficient availability of medicines, a decline in public transport, limitations in community services, and pronounced inflation that depresses real incomes.
In 1960, Deputy Secretary of State Lester Mallory drafted the infamous memorandum on coercion and blockade against Cuba that has guided the US government’s conduct throughout all these years and continues to do so today. It stated, and I quote: “…all possible means must be used quickly to weaken the economic life of Cuba…a course of action that…will achieve the greatest progress in depriving Cuba of money and supplies, in reducing its financial resources and real wages, in causing hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of the government.” End of quote.
The current US Secretary of State is the reincarnation of that macabre individual.
Madam President:
Cuba is a victim of terrorism and has been for decades of US state terrorism. For years, and even today, terrorist acts against the country are organized and financed from U.S. territory. Recognized perpetrators of horrendous acts of aggression against the Cuban people, resulting in thousands of deaths, mutilations, and extensive material damage, live here quietly and with absolute impunity.
In fulfillment of its responsibilities against terrorism and in line with the UN’s efforts to combat this scourge, the Cuban government has officially shared with the US government in recent years the names and details of 62 individuals and 20 organizations based in this country who have been responsible for violent and terrorist acts and who, from this territory, continue to participate in acts of this nature against Cuba. No response has been received, and it is not known whether the United States authorities have taken any action against any of them.
It is cynical that the United States government, for purposes of political and economic coercion, labels Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, a slander that is not shared by this Organization or any of its Member States.
Many of the national institutions, both banking and financial as well as commercial, of almost all the countries represented here, are subject to intimidation because of this false designation by the United States government. As a result, their banks often avoid dealing with Cuban entities, offering us credit, supporting our commercial activity, or channeling our bank transfers.
Added to this is the intimidation of citizens of more than 40 countries whom the US government threatens with reprisals if, by virtue of their rights, they decide to visit Cuba.
The United States has unleashed a virulent campaign of discrediting and persecuting Cuban medical cooperation, and of harassing and coercing the authorities of the countries that receive 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 option for large population groups to access health services.
This altruistic and supportive cooperation is based on absolutely legitimate bilateral agreements and is fully in line with international standards on cooperation of this and other international organizations.
I confirm, once again, that Cuba will maintain its commitments to all countries with which it has bilateral medical cooperation agreements and programs, and will remain willing to expand this cooperation with all governments willing to develop it, respecting international law and their national legislation, for the well-being of their peoples.
Since 1963, almost the same time as Mr. Mallory’s memorandum, 605,000 doctors and specialists have performed more than 17 million surgical procedures and more than 5 million deliveries in dozens of countries. At this time, more than 24,000 health professionals are providing and will provide services in 56 countries.
The aggression against Cuba is reinforced by a powerful destabilization machine that, from U.S. territory and with funding from the federal budget of that country, imposes an offensive aimed at disrupting public peace, promoting acts of violence, disorienting the population, and discrediting our country.
This is an unconventional warfare strategy that combines emotional manipulation with information intoxication in an attempt to impose a climate of despair and political demobilization.
In the face of such an asymmetrical onslaught, the determination of our people is strengthened. We are aware of the great challenges we face and the need to set in motion, with creativity and the cooperation of all, economic recovery and strengthen our well-known and effective social policies.
Last July, President Miguel Díaz-Canel described and quoted: “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 waver in our determination 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’ cult of the full dignity of man” and “conquering all justice.”
We have designed a realistic economic recovery program, adapted to the very peculiar and extraordinary conditions of our country, aware that we must overcome the devastating impacts of the blockade, overcome the deficiencies of the current economic structure, and, I quote, “change everything that must be changed.” We avoid getting our hopes up, but the results are already beginning to be felt at the macroeconomic level, although they are not yet reflected in everyday life, nor are they perceived by families.
Cuba is a peaceful nation. Despite all the damage that the United States has caused and continues to cause us, we have always been willing to engage in dialogue without preconditions and to try to move toward a respectful and civilized relationship with that country, without subordination or limits to our sovereign prerogatives. Both peoples would benefit from such an opportunity.
A considerable number of Cubans live here in the United States, many of whom today feel threatened, since they have been vilely betrayed by politicians who have made careers, especially in Miami, and enriched themselves, supposedly representing them. With the perennial sowing of hatred and political manipulation, these politicians now opportunistically support the xenophobic, racist, and repressive measures of intimidation and retaliation that are unjustly applied against them.
This is particularly the case in the State Department.
It cannot be forgotten that the vast majority of Cubans have come to this country for more than 60 years, driven by the conditions caused by the blockade and attracted by the privilege of politically motivated laws and practices of encouragement, welcome, 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 that are victims of such measures.
We ratify 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 to the Haitian people. We maintain our modest cooperation in health matters 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 right to the Malvinas Islands, South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia Islands, and their surrounding maritime areas.
Cuba remains committed to peace in Colombia and stands in solidarity today with President Gustavo Petro.
Africa, the cradle of humanity, can always count on Cuba and the solidarity of the Cuban people. We support its just claim for reparations for the damage caused by 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 utopianism, 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 Cuba’s sincere voice against injustice, inequality, underdevelopment, discrimination, and manipulation, and for the establishment of a more just and equitable international order, at the center of which are truly human beings, their dignity, and their well-being.”
Thank you very much.
Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English
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