Cuba mobilizes in defense of Venezuela

Havana, Oct. 17 — At sunrise, tens of thousands filled Havana’s Avenida de los Presidentes, gathering at the Simón Bolívar Monument in a powerful show of solidarity with Venezuela. The demonstration began at 7:30 a.m. and surged for blocks down the tree-lined boulevard to the Malecón.

The rally came a day after Washington’s war machine struck another small boat in the Caribbean Sea, this one from Trinidad and Tobago. Two people were killed, and two survived.

Representatives of the Communist Party of Cuba, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel, stood alongside delegates from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Cuba’s Communist Youth Union (UJC), and participants in the International Conference of Theoretical Publications of Left Parties and Movements (Encuentro Internacional de Publicaciones Teóricas de Partidos y Movimientos de Izquierda).

Speakers reaffirmed the unbreakable bonds joining the Cuban and Venezuelan peoples — two nations forged in struggle, facing the same imperialist enemy. 

Over 4.3 million Cubans — nearly half of the population — signed a national declaration backing Bolivarian Venezuela and condemning U.S. war and intervention.

President Nicolás Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, on hearing this, responded with gratitude and resolve.

“You cannot imagine how important it is for our people to feel the love and solidarity of the Cuban people,” Maduro said. 

Chants of “¡Cuba y Venezuela, unidas vencerán!” rolled through the crowd.