Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of devastation through the Antilles, with over 30 deaths in Haiti and Jamaica to date. The Eastern part of Cuba was also slammed by Melissa, the strongest hurricane to hit in the last 150 years.  As of now, no lives have been lost in Cuba, thanks to its national unity and preparedness, which enabled it to evacuate over 700,000 people and their belongings out of harm’s way before the storm arrived. –  editorial

Oct. 30 — “Our triumph is life itself, that the population of the eastern provinces was able to protect itself from the blow of Melissa, and it is also the life of the entire nation defended without fear in the face of a deceitful and cynical empire,” said Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the National Defense Council, at the meeting of this body broadcast on the television program Mesa Redonda.

“These days have been very challenging, very tense, but also very instructive and very illustrative of the power of unity and the mobilizing and unifying capacity of our Party at the forefront of the Revolution.”

“The danger has not yet passed. The strong winds and heavy rains left behind by the hurricane, the overflowing rivers, the fallen trees and poles, the pollution generated in these circumstances… all of this can lead to further damage, disease, and even the loss of human lives and material goods that were preserved at the worst of times. We could lose them if there is negligence, if there is inaccuracy.”

“Now it is important to carry out the survey that has been directed of all the damage; to clean up and control the epidemiological situation; to restore energy, communications, and drinking water services; to ensure a responsible and orderly return of evacuees to their places of residence when directed; to immediately resume health and education services at all levels; to guarantee food production and distribution; save whatever can be saved from the sugar and coffee harvests (…); restore services to the population and begin the rescue of damaged infrastructure, especially housing.”

“Today we are all Fidel and Raúl. Today we are all the Party of unity defending life. Our greatest recognition at a time like this goes to those in the eastern provinces who faced Melissa and those at the United Nations who faced the empire.

”Winning these battles is only the obligation to continue winning those that are yet to come.”

Another no! From the world to the blockade

Cuba was once again supported by the overwhelming majority of the countries that make up the United Nations, 165 of which voted on Wednesday to lift the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States government against the archipelago.

However, it was not just another victory on the same terms as in previous years, because, as never before, the White House instructed the deployment of a campaign of discrediting, pressure, and direct blackmail against several governments in exchange for an adverse vote or abstention, in the futile aspiration to deny the genocidal nature of that core of economic warfare that is the blockade.

Nevertheless, the resistance of the Cuban people has also been unprecedented, and it is to them that the triumph of reason belongs, which imposed the favorable vote of 165 countries against seven and 12 abstentions: a Pyrrhic result of the dirty diplomatic maneuvering that characterizes the Washington leadership, in collusion with its usual allies and cronies of the moment.

In the vote count, of course, the United States and Israel, at the head of a lineup bought or forced to demand that the longest policy of economic suffocation against any nation continue to be tried against Cuba. But no one is surprised that the same people who finance and fire the missiles that exterminated 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza are the leading promoters of this other genocide by attrition to kill through hunger, disease, and deprivation.

It is an overwhelming figure that certifies another colossal defeat for imperialist arrogance and exposes the ridicule of that great power that sought to legitimize the crime of the blockade of the largest island of the Antilles in the UN, using its best tools: intimidation and political extortion.

Source: Granma, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English

Dear subscribers, colleagues, and friends: Right now, the people of Cuba are facing an unprecedented crisis: crippling electrical blackouts, the relentless weight of the U.S. blockade, and now the arrival of Hurricane Melissa. We are sending urgently-needed food, clean water, and supplies to the island—and we need your help This hurricane is not merely a severe storm; it is a catastrophic event that has shredded infrastructure and left entire communities in life-threatening conditions. But this natural disaster is amplified exponentially by a man-made catastrophe. For over six decades, the U.S. blockade has choked the Cuban economy, preventing access to essential goods, medicines, and the materials needed for recovery. This policy of strangulation has been devastatingly intensified by measures put in place under the Trump administration and championed by figures like Marco Rubio.

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The direct result of this cruel policy is staggering: the blockade has cost the Cuban people an estimated $7.5 billion in damages in the last year alone. This deliberate economic warfare prevents Cuba from acquiring the necessities they need right now to survive, including generators, building materials, food, and drinking water. The resilience of the Cuban people is undeniable, having endured 65 years of economic blockade, but Hurricane Melissa has created an even more challenging situation. The Cuban people urgently need solidarity from us around the world. We have a profound responsibility to act and to deliver urgent, life-saving aid directly to the Cuban people. Our immediate goal is to raise $50,000 to send essential food, clean drinking water, and supplies to the areas affected by the hurricane. Every dollar you donate is a lifeline to the Cuban people in this urgent and challenging moment. Please donate what you can today. Rally your community, and let’s prove that humanity and neighborly love are stronger than any blockade. The Hurricane Melissa Relief donation drive is a collaborative effort between The People’s Forum, IFCO/Pastors for Peace, The Hatuey Project, The ANSWER Coalition, and The Party for Socialism & Liberation, in partnership with The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center (CMMLK) in Cuba.

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All Donations are tax deductible To donate by check: Make check out to: The People’s Forum On memo line write: “Urgent Aid” Make check out to: The People’s Forum Mail to: The People’s Forum 320 W 37th St New York, NY 10018

On the second full day of the third annual International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left-wing Parties and Movements (Encuentro Internacional de Publicaciones Teóricas de Partidos y Movimientos de Izquierda) in Havana, the participants from over 40 countries broke into various political education workshops at the Nico Lopez University of the Communist Party of Cuba. 

This session featured Dr. Rosa Miriam Elizalde facilitating and Miguel Angel Perez Pirela as the featured speaker. Miriam Elizalde is a Cuban journalist and editor with a doctorate in communications who teaches at the University of Havana. Perez Pirela is a Venezuelan philosopher and writer. He is also the coordinator of the Network in Defense of Humanity, an alliance of progressive writers, thinkers, artists, and social movements. 

Perez Pirela opened the discussion with a framing of the current struggle between the Global South and the increasingly aggressive imperialist powers like the United States and Britain. There is no doubt Venezuela and Cuba face difficult times. Venezuela faces potential U.S. military action against its coast under the pretext of “narco-terrorism” and Cuba faces an increasingly tightening economic blockade. 

The leading PSUV philosopher analyzed that literal, political, and economic battlefields are not the only places where this struggle is being fought. Information warfare through social media has become a crucial tool for the imperialist narrative. Algorithms for social media magnates like Meta, Twitter, and TikTok are used to disseminate right wing-propaganda and push false narratives about the enemies of the U.S. 

Perez Pierla analyzed that the key to information warfare isn’t actually a battle of ideas, but a battle to gain attention in the first place. All western social media algorithms are designed so the imperialists can win this battle. According to Perez Pirela, Donald Trump is establishing a dictatorship of attention through social media and news media. All of Trump’s bombast and sound bites transfer well to social media formats that promote short, snappy videos. Further, Trump has used military action against boats off the Venezuelan coast in recent weeks effectively in promoting his information war. 

Drone strikes on innocent fisher people and migrants is not just about the literal military action but about communicating to the world how far the U.S. is willing to go. This is a form of communication meant to sow fear and dissuade resistance. Perez Pirela insists that destruction left in the wake of the U.S. military campaign in the Caribbean is not the end itself but a means to an end. Short social media clips of exploding ships draw tremendous amounts of attention, allowing Trump to shape his false narco-terrorist narrative. 

Military strikes against Venezuela pose severe difficulties for the U.S. both in terms of logistics and public opinion. The U.S. public is exhausted of war and unlikely to support another pretext for invasion similar to the false accusations of “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq. If the imperialists can’t win through outright force, they push lies and sensationalism through social media in the hopes of fostering regime change. 

Due to this mounting aggression, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has had to embrace all forms of resistance. Not only has President Maduro and the PSUV mobilized the people in preparation for imperialist aggression, but the Venezuelan government has also promoted images and videos of this mass mobilization widely on social media. These images have even penetrated some corporate media like the New York Times and BBC. This is also a form of communication, making the imperialists aware that any incursion or bombing campaign will be met with the fiercest resistance of the Venezuelan people. 

Due to Venezuela’s clear message of resistance, Donald Trump and his cohorts were forced to find validity in a formerly irrelevant fascist Venezuelan opposition leader, Marina Machado. In Venezuela itself, Machado is viewed as a joke. She has no basis in the popular masses who openly supports U.S. intervention in Latin America while also being a cheerleader for the genocide in Gaza. 

Machado’s Nobel prize has backfired severely. The people of Venezuela are more resolved than ever that the U.S. does not have their best interests at heart – quite the opposite. If they genuinely cared about the Venezuelan people, the imperialists would not push a figure who would almost certainly open the country to imperialist pillaging and exploitation. 

The PSUV philosopher outlined how the rest of the world has also seen through Machado’s peace prize. Social Media algorithms that constantly push Machado’s former statements and activities were meant to endear Venezuela and people around the world to the opposition. Because of her fascist ideology, the opposite has occurred. The Nobel Peace Prize has lost all validity and to some extent exposed Trump’s pretext for intervention against Venezuela. 

About halfway through the presentation, the facilitator and speaker paused for questions. A Struggle – La Lucha reporter, Lev Koufax, asked Perez Pirela to analyze how the information has evolved since the last serious regime change attempt in Venezuela in 2019. The Venezuelan analyzed the history and current situation in depth. 

In 2019, right-wing Venezuelan opposition, with the backing of the U.S., attempted to supplant Nicholas Maduro and the PSUV with Juan Guaido. There is no doubt that Guaido was a U.S. puppet who would sell out his people for the interests of corporate America. In 2019, the media narrative was pushed to create a parallel government to the legitimate administration of Nicholas Maduro. At that time, social media began circulating content presenting Guaido’s coup plotters as newly appointed government officials. This culminated in a fascist assault on the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C. Ultimately, this attempt failed. 

So, what has changed? Perez Pirela says that now, the U.S. isn’t just trying to create a parallel Venezuelan government, but a parallel Venezuela. Under this narrative, the only “real” Venezuelans are the right wingers and ex-pats who live in the United States. The idea is to erase the genuine culture and people of Venezuela as to dehumanize the country and make easier justification for intervention. If the people who actually live in Venezuela are universally viewed as drones and monsters, the U.S. may have an easier time convincing the world to follow along their path of aggression. 

Rounding into the last part of his lecture, Perez Pirela posed a question: Is all lost? His answer was absolutely not! It’s true that the imperialists have the edge because they created and control the largest social media platforms. Venezuela doesn’t even have control over the satellites that make social media available in their country. The U.S. completely tramples on Venezuela’s digital and information sovereignty. However, Perez Pirela insists the Global South and all the working class can punch through their advantage using the ingenuity of people in countries like Cuba and Venezuela. 

PSUV activists and the government of Venezuela are seriously studying social media algorithms to develop messaging, methods, and aesthetics that punch through slanted algorithms. Breaking through these algorithms allows progressive forces to redirect attention to socialist and anti-imperialist media and away from imperialist propaganda. Silicon Valley, Musk, and Zuckerberg are not going to do the work of the Global South and the broader anti-imperialist movement. Those who would challenge U.S. hegemony must innovate to use Western social media to direct attention to other forms of media. 

Perez Pirela continued that audio visual political content and high quality aesthetics have been very useful in breaking through U.S. propaganda in Venezuela itself. The goal now is to broaden that effort and connect with other progressive forces across the world. Perez Pirela finished his talk with a simple message: While the imperialists have more resources and control much of the digital world, what they don’t have are the people of Venezuela and Cuba. The session ended with thunderous applause. 

 

Havana, Oct. 19 — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez addressed the Third International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left-wing Parties and Movements (Encuentro Internacional de Publicaciones Teóricas de Partidos y Movimientos de Izquierda) with a call to confront the global resurgence of fascism and imperialism.

His presence at the conference was a testament to the importance of left publications and movements that tell the truth and dismantle imperialist manipulation. He motivated everyone in the room by reminding them that publishing from the left is an act of resistance in these times. 

“To think is to fight, to publish is to resist, and to communicate is to liberate,” he told participants. “We must all be committed to this battle.” 

The gathering brought together writers, scholars, and activists from across the world. 

Speakers discussed urgent global crises — the genocide in Palestine, U.S. aggression against Venezuela, and the ongoing blockade of Cuba. 

Díaz-Canel urged participants to build a coordinated network of socialist and anti-imperialist publications that promote critical thinking and tell the truth about the dangers of imperialism.

Truth-telling and ideological unity will be the left’s tool against the imperialism we face today. The conference gave participants an opportunity to build relationships and create unity in order to go back to our respective corners of the world and continue our fight for liberation. 

Nico Lopez was born on Oct. 2, 1932, in Havana, Cuba. Just over 24 years later, the Batista regime murdered Lopez and four of his comrades after they landed in Cuba along with the rest of the Granma’s crew. Lopez gave his life for Cuban socialism and the liberation of the Cuban people from U.S. proxy rule. 

Thus, it is fitting that the third annual International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left-wing Parties and Movements (Encuentro Internacional de Publicaciones Teóricas de Partidos y Movimientos de Izquierda) opened in the theater of the Nico Lopez University of the Communist Party of Cuba. The conference’s goal is to continue building political communication and solidarity among the world’s progressive movements in Cuba, as the country and the world navigate a new era of imperialist aggression. 

Hundreds of progressives and left-wing activists piled into the auditorium. 

A panel on geopolitical relations and international analysis of global tensions and their impact on the left movement opened the conference. The panel consisted of four contributors:

1. Anil Cinar, member of the Communist Party of Turkey and manager of the Party’s magazine, Gelenek;
2. Chen Yiming, the Director General of the Chinese Communist Party’s Bureau of Latin America and the Caribbean publication of the People’s Daily;
3. David Gomez Rodriguez, the Vice President of Formation and Ideology for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and
4. Jorge Hernandez, Director of the Center for Hemispheric and U.S. Studies at the University of Havana. 

The discussion was moderated by Elier Ramirez Canedo, a member of the Cuban Communist Party’s central committee. 

All four speakers analyzed the problems facing the global working-class movement in the face of imperialist aggression from their own unique perspectives. 

Anil Cinar opened the panel with a speech about the imperialist strategy to sow lawlessness across the planet. The imperialist United States creates this chaos through sanctions, covert operations, and war. Cinar asserted that this strategy can be seen through not just the horrific genocide in Palestine, but in the continuing campaigns against Venezuela, Cuba, Yemen, and Iran. 

The speaker insisted that all these struggles are not just fights for national independence but also fronts in a growing global class struggle. Cinar concluded his talk by touting Cuba’s insistence on socialism as an example for the world. He asserted that the struggle in Turkey will continue until a new system rises that refuses to play facilitator for Western capital. He called upon the audience to push the socialist struggle around the world in unity to defeat imperialism. 

Director General Chen Yiming spoke next. He said the world is under strain, but the Global South is gaining economic power. China, he affirmed, is part of the Global South and committed to unity among its nations — including Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Chen emphasized that Cuba and China have built socialism together through economic, political, and cultural cooperation. He announced plans to expand trade with Cuba and to distribute Cuba’s socialist newspaper, Granma, more widely in China.

Next, Dr. David Gomez Rodriguez took the stage to loud applause. The crowd’s response reflected both the imperialist aggression against Venezuela and the resistance of its people, led by President Nicolás Maduro.

Rodriguez declared that Che and Fidel live on — in Cuba and in the global struggle against imperialism. He hailed the shared achievements of Venezuela and Cuba in eradicating illiteracy and defeating U.S.-backed coups.

But he warned that unity between nations like Venezuela and Cuba is now more vital than ever. A bloody struggle is coming, he said — a fight against the rise of fascism to ensure the working class of the planet not only survives but builds a new socialist world.

Rodriguez cited Russia’s war against NATO-backed Ukraine and the Axis of Resistance’s refusal to bend to U.S. pressure in West Asia as examples of that global resistance. He ended with a call to action: Only the unity of socialist states and anti-imperialist movements can secure the working class’s victory over imperialism.

Professor Jorge Hernandez was the final speaker. His message was direct: Today’s wars do not exist in isolation.

He analyzed the war in Ukraine and the genocide in Palestine as U.S. proxy wars — bent on smashing resistance and increasing profits. He urged every left-wing publication present to keep exposing the truth. Progressive newspapers, websites, books, social media, and magazines all play a role in breaking down the myths of imperialism. Simply put, people’s knowledge is people’s power.

Hernandez closed his talk acknowledging that while the process of fighting the empire is unfinished, it is by no means impossible. Quoting the founder of Bolivarian Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, he ended: “Community or nothing.”

Through these four speakers, the defiance of the Global South against imperialism was unmistakable. The conference closed with a firm anti-imperialist direction that will shape the debates and resolutions ahead. As long as leaders like these continue the struggle, hope for working-class victory over exploitation, racism, and genocide remains alive and strong.

 

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.

Cuba categorically rejects claims of participation in the conflict in Ukraine 

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Government of the Republic of Cuba rejects the mendacious allegations being spread by the United States Government concerning an alleged involvement of Cuba in the military conflict in Ukraine. This is a slanderous accusation first launched in 2023 by certain media outlets without offering any evidence or substantiation of any kind, and clearly serving an assigned purpose. 

The Cuban Government categorically reaffirms that Cuba is not part of the armed conflict in Ukraine, nor does it participate with military personnel there or in any other country. 

Our authorities have no precise information regarding Cuban nationals who, on their own initiative, have participated or are participating in the military forces of either side of the conflict. What is indisputable is that none of them acts with the encouragement, commitment, or consent of the Cuban State. 

In accordance with its national legislation and international obligations, the Cuban Government maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward mercenarism, human trafficking, and the participation of its nationals in any armed confrontation in another country — all of which constitute serious crimes subject to severe penalties under national law. 

As declared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 4, 2023, upon detecting the presence of Cubans in the conflict in Ukraine, steps were taken to neutralize recruitment within the national territory, and criminal proceedings were initiated accordingly. 

Between 2023 and 2025, Cuban courts have conducted nine criminal proceedings for the offense of mercenarism, involving forty defendants. In eight of these cases, trials have been held, and in five, guilty verdicts have been handed down against 26 defendants, with sentences ranging from 5 to 14 years of imprisonment. Three cases await the court’s judgment, and one case is pending trial.

Cubans participating on both sides of the armed conflict have been recruited through organizations not based in our country and having no connection whatsoever with the Cuban Government. In the vast majority of cases, this recruitment has been carried out abroad among Cuban nationals residing or temporarily staying in various countries, just as recruitment for that conflict has taken place among people of many other nationalities, in numbers that also remain imprecise. 

The United States Government has not provided and will not be able to offer a single piece of evidence to support its baseless and mendacious accusations in this new defamatory campaign against Cuba. 

Havana, October 11, 2025. 

(Cubaminrex)

Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the Foreign Minister of Cuba, delivered a powerful message calling for “all human rights for all human beings,” as the keynote speaker at “Cuba and the U.N.: A Fight for the Global South.” 

The event was held at the SVA Theater in New York City on Sept. 27. Rodríguez called for a new world order free of blockades and exploitation, both in Cuba and in Palestine. His speech echoed the words of Assata Shakur, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

His speech began in solidarity with Palestine. Rodríguez strongly proclaimed that it is the U.N.’s duty to condemn the genocide committed by Israel. He continued that the global community cannot accept that the U.N. has no responsibility to the Palestinian people. The foreign minister further demanded that Palestine become a full member of the U.N., with the borders established before 1967. The opening speaker of the program also highlighted Cuba’s continuous history of solidarity with Palestine. From when Cuban leaders took the first steps in the 1960s by visiting Gaza and establishing relations to this week, when Cuba opened in the U.N. by speaking of how 2.2 million people in Gaza face a blockade and genocide, Cuba has demonstrated solidarity with Palestine.

Rodríguez’s speech continued with the struggle against imperialism by discussing the U.S. military presence in the Southern Hemisphere. Fighting drug trafficking is the excuse the United States uses to assert military rule and dominance as an imperial power in Latin America. Recently, U.S. naval forces have been deployed in the Caribbean and have committed strikes on Venezuelan ships, killing civilians. The Cuban people and the Cuban government reject the U.S. militarization of the Caribbean and targeting of Venezuela.

Cuba has been a target of an asymmetrical war of attrition by the U.S., with an aim to conquer Cuba by isolating it with a blockade to cut off international trade. This year alone, the U.S. blockade on Cuba has cost the Cuban people 7.5 billion USD. The goal of the U.S. blockade is not hidden; in April 1960, a U.S. memorandum stated that the only means to stop Cuban support for Castro was to cause such great financial and life hardship that the people would turn against the government, so that it could be overthrown. 

This blockade continues today, resulting in blackouts, threatening the water supply, and restricting access to essential health and medical supplies. The U.S. propaganda campaign asserts that Cuban socialism is the cause of these hardships, when in reality, the cause is the U.S. blockade. The blockade has not stopped Cuba from persisting; Cuba is investing in solar power to decrease the economic deficit and provide the people with energy. 

Despite the U.S. propaganda campaigns against Cuban medical programs, Cuba will continue its commitment to medical cooperation. Currently, there are approximately 24,000 Cuban medical practitioners providing services in 56 countries worldwide. Rodríguez asserted that imperialism cannot erase Cuba’s economic and social accomplishments. 

The speech ended with a strong statement: Imperialism cannot cause Cuba to stray from the path of socialism. In a call to action, he concluded by speaking of how Fidel Castro believed a better world is possible, and that the only way to achieve this is for the oppressed and exploited to struggle. Together, no empire can hold back the change that is coming.

¡Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!

 

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

Washington, D.C., Sept. 17 — An exhibition of posters allegorical to the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, opened today at the Cuban Embassy in the United States with Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío in attendance.

The event, which is part of the program for Fidel’s centenary in 2026, was attended by representatives of the intellectual community, culture, political parties, social movements, solidarity organizations, and friends of Cuba in general.

Referring to the Cuban leader, Fernández de Cossío mentioned the “extraordinary characteristics concentrated in a single individual” and affirmed that he made a great contribution to the world for the better and “I believe that is something for which he will be remembered,” he emphasized

Earlier, the head of the Cuban Mission, Lianys Torres, welcomed participants to the event on Wednesday evening, where poet Nubia Kai recited one of her poems dedicated to the island, Fidel, and his Revolution.

Activist Mark Friedman, co-chair of the Los Angeles Hands Off Cuba Committee, also spoke, and the embassy thanked him for his dedication and efforts in bringing the exhibition to a successful conclusion.

Friedman announced that they will be organizing a similar event in Los Angeles on October 25, “when we will once again vehemently protest the U.S. blockade of Cuba in the run-up to the vote at the United Nations.”

Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926, in Birán, in what is now the eastern province of Holguín, and his departure into immortality on November 25, 2016, at the age of 90, caused an international stir.

Throughout his life, the island’s State Security services identified hundreds of plans in various stages of development to physically eliminate him. He emerged unscathed from 634 plots to assassinate him between 1958 and 2000.

Fidel asked that no statues or squares be erected in his memory, which is why the monolith where his ashes rest in the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba bears only the five letters of his name.

Source: Prensa Latina, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English