Cuba e-visa now on new official site.    Tony Tracy

NEW WEBSITE to obtain your mandatory Cuban e-Visa.

Following maintenance by the Cuban government in recent days, the old https://evisacuba.cu website has been “phased out”, and to obtain your eVisa to travel to Cuba, you now need to go to:

https://Consular.cu

Consular.cu is now the official Cuban website to obtain your Cuban entry eVisa for your travels to the island.

 Embajada de Cuba en Canadá - Embassy of Cuba in Canada

The United States blockade against #Cuba is not a bilateral issue: it has a significant extraterritorial component that affects third parties, as can be seen in these statements by WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech to Aviacionline.com.

 

Cuba will defend its sovereignty as a way to defend the sovereignty of all states on the planet

The Foreign Minister explained the new conditions surrounding the upcoming UN discussion on the resolution calling for an end to the blockade

Author: Laura Mercedes Giráldez | informacion@granmai.cu

October 22, 2026 

Rodríguez Parrilla denounced the machinery of actions aimed at altering the traditional vote in favor of Cuba. Photo: Vladimir Molina

The draft resolution, "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba," will be brought before the UN next week for the thirty-fourth time—this time, with two notable new features.

This was announced on Wednesday by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, a member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during a press conference for national and foreign media.

"What is new, unique, and extraordinary," he explained, "is that the General Assembly will, for the first time, be responding to a situation in which the blockade against Cuba has been tightened to an extreme degree."

The second new aspect, he noted, is a ruthless campaign by the United States government—specifically the State Department and the Secretary of State—to exert extreme pressure on numerous UN member states, aiming to force them to abandon the positions they have sovereignly maintained for decades.

Regarding these pressures, he stated that the Secretary of State is even involved personally—sometimes covertly, and at other times, publicly. "They have been at this for months," he affirmed.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE, COERCION, AND BLACKMAIL

In this regard, he presented an instruction from the State Department that asks governments not to vote in favor of "Cuban propaganda—as if the blockade and the resulting humanitarian harm were not part of a reality that no one can refute."

Rodríguez Parrilla denounced the document, stating that it "seeks to blame the Cuban government for the humanitarian harm caused by the blockade. This is by no means what the U.S. government typically calls 'collateral damage'; rather, it is planned, foreseen, and deliberately designed to destabilize the country by inflicting suffering upon families."

Furthermore, the released text insists that the blockade is legal and allows the island to trade with third countries.

A second document made public contains direct threats of sanctions. It urges the recipient—a high-ranking official—to carefully consider the matter, threatening the imposition of sanctions against their government or even against the individual personally.

A third "slanderous" document, which he also mentioned, attempts to use Cuba’s alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine as a pretext—a claim that the largest of the Antilles has repeatedly denied.

The pressure tactics employed by Washington in its bid to alter votes in favor of ending the blockade include the threat of imposing tariffs, the suspension of cooperation programs, the denial of visas to government officials and their family members, support for opposition forces against the respective governments, and the threat of inciting the overthrow of these governments through interference in their electoral processes.

The Foreign Minister also cited the threat to politically destabilize these countries; to act against the legitimate economic, financial, and investment interests of these governments; to impose secondary sanctions; and to force the removal of foreign companies from Cuba through direct and brutal pressure.

He warned that these constitute "a set of methods amounting to genuine political violence, coercion, and blackmail."

In this regard, he condemned the United States government for using a Latin American country as a front and intermediary to attempt to organize a group of nations, compelling them to shift their positions on the Resolution.

Furthermore, he revealed a draft speech—circulated among certain countries—that urges them to acknowledge (as it is undeniable, he noted) the existence of unilateral coercive measures, while failing to mention the energy blockade or the obstruction of shipping containers, which are being held up due to threats made against shipping companies.

He pointed out that the State Department has gone so far as to absurdly request that certain countries—which have a long-standing, firm record of voting in favor of this Resolution—either abstain, leave the chamber, or refrain from participating in the vote altogether. He added that such actions are likely to continue right up until the vote takes place.

PRETEXTS AND ACTIONS

The head of Cuban diplomacy also referred to the "ridiculous and shameful event held on October 19th, in a small, remote room within the United Nations in New York—which is, nonetheless, international territory," he denounced.

He described it as a "small, threatening, and failed event," to which the U.S. representative brought several individuals who have no authorization to be in that space, which is reserved for accredited diplomats. Among them, he mentioned Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, who appears on the national list of individuals and entities linked to terrorism.

Boronat, he added, is responsible for the attack on the Prensa Latina office in Mexico City. He has maintained professional, complicit, and personal ties with terrorists such as Ramón Saúl Sánchez Rizo, Santiago Álvarez Fernández-Magriñá, and Luis Posada Carriles.

The Foreign Minister also noted that José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara—both of whom have been convicted and sentenced in Cuba—were among the guests at the meeting. This gathering is part of an offensive aimed at disrupting the upcoming UN debate, pressuring states to alter their positions during the session, and compelling them to vote differently than they had previously decided, in the exercise of their own sovereign and free will.

Such actions by the White House are intended to divert attention from the core issue: that a military, nuclear, economic, and technological superpower is committing an atrocious and ongoing act of abuse against a small, peaceful, peace-loving nation. It seeks to destroy the nation, commits an act of genocide—as defined under the Geneva Convention—brutally violates international law and international humanitarian law, and constitutes a massive, flagrant, and systematic violation of human rights, both for the Cuban people and for all nations.

The U.S. government—he stated—is maintaining a campaign that seeks to justify its actions. "No pretext of any kind could serve to justify acts of genocide or collective punishment. No political difference between governments, and no pretext related to the United States' objective of achieving regime change in Cuba, can justify acts of genocide or collective punishment."

He declared that this is not merely a bilateral matter, and that what is happening to Cuba today could happen to any other state tomorrow. He urged the international community—specifically the United Nations General Assembly—to take collective action to restore the rule of international law, and to prevent the use of force, the threat of the use of force, and the so-called imposition of peace through force.

He further noted that the issue to be discussed at the UN is, in no way, a mere dispute; rather, it concerns the sovereign rights of every state on the planet.

The General Assembly will debate whether a single power has the right—through various types of coercive measures—to obstruct trade with third countries, restrict freedom of navigation, or violate universally accepted norms of international commerce.

Rodríguez Parrilla expressed his gratitude to the governments, parliaments, grassroots and social movements, women’s, youth, and labor organizations, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, intellectuals, artists, academics, and scientists who have shown solidarity with Cuba and consistently condemned the blockade.

He acknowledged the states that have voted in favor of the resolution for more than 30 years. He also reiterated his thanks to the governments that recently, at the UN, opposed the energy-related and all-encompassing siege imposed upon the island.

Regarding the recent accusations against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, he described them as an "infamous and futile act"—one devoid of any legal, ethical, or practical merit—and noted that it is part of a concerted effort to continue stifling the Caribbean nation.

"I am convinced that the United States government's policy toward Cuba will have to change," he emphasized. This is due, first and foremost, to the Cuban people's resolve to defend their homeland against any threat. It is also, he added, a matter of the will of the American people. Furthermore, he asserted that the current situation is dangerous, constitutes a threat, and is unsustainable.

In response to a question from Granma newspaper, Rodríguez Parrilla stated that Cuba inspires great admiration. Moreover, the country enjoys the support of numerous friends worldwide, maintains fraternal relations with nearly every government on the planet, and holds diplomatic ties with all of them—with almost no exceptions.

Cuba also retains the recognition of its traditional trading partners. "It is well known that investors who were forced to leave our country did so against their own will, against their own interests, and against the interests of their own nations."

Many countries acknowledge that the energy blockade and the practice of collective punishment are directly linked to Cuba’s very existence as a sovereign state—actions that harm commercial relations not only for the island itself but also for third parties. For this reason, he affirmed, the strong spirit of solidarity with the largest of the Antilles will continue to endure.

He further emphasized that Cuba will not be defeated, will not be overcome, and will not surrender; it will defend its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity—as a way of upholding the independence and sovereignty of all states across the globe—regardless of the ultimate consequences.

 Donations from Japan and Russia in Cuba: the focus is strengthening food security among the most vulnerable sectors of our population.

Carmen Maturell Senon | internet@granma.cu October 2026

The donations, destined to support the most vulnerable sectors of the Cuban populations, sent by the government of Japan and by the Russian Federation, were very well received. In the case of the Russian Federation it was the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and for the Elimination of Natural Disaster Consequences the one responsible for the support; it included 750 tons of vegetable oil, 211 tons already out of the ship and in Cuban soil, 500 tons are in the process of being discharged.

During the act of reception, presided by vice prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, the ambassador of the Russian Federation, Victor Koronelli, and members of the World Food Programme in Cuba, highlighted the contribution as part of other contributions including fuel, medications and food that the Russian Federation has already provided to Cuba.

Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Minister of Internal Trade gave her thanks for the support provided and explained that indeed this is a contribution towards fulfilling the needs of families with children under the age of 5 in situations of vulnerability, towards expecting mothers, and infants affected by chronic disease and low weight.

Díaz Velázquez also pointed out that «in the middle of the challenging context Cuba is facing, the donation provides another opportunity to reaffirm the historic links between the Russian Federation and Cuba».

Victor Koronelli added that the donation of vegetable oil, besides being a symbolic gesture, will have increased important value at this time when the United States is intensifying its blockade against Cuba.

Regarding the Japanese donation of 425 tons of rice it is important to explain that this donation is part of a humanitarian response in support of the Cuban population affected by Hurricane Melissa, which particularly affected the Eastern part of Cuba. This donation is part of the World Food Program, of which 170 tons of grains and 226 tons of oil had already been received. The ambassador of Japan, Nakamura Kazuhito, had already said that Japan is willing to cooperate and share resources that contribute to alleviate the situation of the Cuban population during challenging times.

The vice prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Pérez-Oliva Fraga, highlighted that this actions of support underline that Cuba IS NOT ALONE something «particularly important at the time when the US administration pretends to isolate our country under pressure and direct threats, all based on lies formulated to encourage the world to react against the Cuban Government».

The Japanese donation was affected by the blockade against Cuba, it was stranded in the port, he said, its distribution delayed for a few months since its arrival in Cuba.

«Our government assures donations reach the most vulnerable people and centers of social assistance in our country, our goal is to support and ensure appropriate levels of food and nutrition in our population».

Translation by NSCUBA (Nova Scotia)

 

New incentives for more imports for the benefit of domestic industry

In the distribution chain, intermediaries are eliminated and this seeks to reduce the prices of raw materials and imported inputs.

Fidel Benito Rendón Matienzo in Exclusive 16/10/2026 CUBAHORA

Among the objectives of the Cuban Government’s Economic and Social Program for 2026 are to increase the import of raw materials and intermediate goods, and to protect the national industry through new incentives.

In this effort to increase input supplies for chaining with local production, a group of new regulations allow to eliminate intermediaries from the distribution chain and contribute to reducing the prices of raw materials and imported finished products, for the benefit of the national market and the population.

Decree-Law 137, Decree 183 (amending the number 32) and resolutions 151 and 152 of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (Mincex), and 62, of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, establish the new changes.

 

A wide information in recent hours offered to executives and officials of the government of Havana, as well as businessmen, Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez, first deputy minister of Mincex, according to this body on his profile on Facebook.

 

He explained that among the main transformations is the direct hiring of personnel in businesses with foreign investment, branches and representative offices, without the obligation to go to intermediary employer entities.

For its part, the 129 transformation authorizes state-owned companies, cooperatives and forms of private management to carry out foreign trade operations directly, after approval from the Mincex, it was said at the meeting.

 

Likewise, it establishes the easing of foreign investment, which includes the simplification of procedures, the opening of bank accounts abroad and the participation of Cubans residing abroad, among other measures that energize foreign trade.

 

So that in the future the branches of foreign trade representations, established in Cuba, will be able to carry out foreign trade operations and distribute wholesale goods in the country, as established by the rules published on October 2 in the ordinary Official Gazette number 82.

 

As the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Déborah Rivas Saavedra, recently explained to local media, foreign companies carried out commercial activity, but it was the Cuban importer who nationalized the merchandise, transported it and distributed it.

With the new provisions, these suppliers access the market more directly, up to the wholesale level.

 

The aim of the transformation, Deborah stressed, is to further open the domestic market to the receipt of supplies, with fewer restrictions and intermediaries in the delivery of the products.

 

In his opinion one of the main impacts that this measure can have is the decrease in prices.

 

On the axis 15 of the economic and social transformations, dedicated to foreign trade, he pointed out that the procedure that allows Cuban legal entities to directly request authorization to import and export is already in force, without having to go to other entities such as intermediaries.

 

 

 

No patches or detour

The 176 economic and social transformations begin to be implemented, but their fate will be decided in another field: daily life.
The capital challenge of Cuba is to make the change sit on the table, on salary, on transport, on investments... Between the norm and reality there is a distance that the country knows well, and shortening it is today the definitive test

Published: October 2026 

Author: Ayuban Gutiérrez Quintanilla

digital@juventudrebelde.cu

For the past three months, Cuba has had an ambitious group of economic and social transformations with great national and international impact. Conceived as a profound update of its socialist model, this program not only responds to the urgency of the present, but also opens a window of unprecedented opportunities for foreign investment, business modernization and sustainable development. The government has drawn up a roadmap that seeks to turn the island into a pole of attraction for capital in the Caribbean, despite the strong and growing restrictions imposed by the current Trump administration.

The 176 transformations, grouped into 23 strategic axes, represent a substantial rethinking in our economic policy, although it maintains a continuity with aspects present since the 2011 Guidelines, through the Update of the model and the Constitution of 2019. The decisions range from the opening of the banking and financial system — with the creation of exchange houses and the entry of private, foreign and domestic capital, into the sector — to the comprehensive reform of the state enterprise, which can now, depending on its development strategy, become companies by shares, ally with domestic and foreign private capital, and even liquidate if it is not viable.

The Greater Antilles is at a time of momentous definitions, and determined to be a small, very open and underdeveloped economy, which implies, among other things, a high dependence on the external sector and the need to have a high level of imports of goods and services, both consumption and capital, as well as international financing.

The model based on centralization, both of property and of the state business organization, could not guarantee to overcome the main structural problems of the economy, which inevitably happened to insert us effectively into the world economy. Added to the above is the intensification of the economic war of the United States Government against the Cuban people and the international economic and political situation, which has driven a change of perspective that had been claimed by many sectors.

The reforms seek to offer legal certainty, relax the hiring mechanisms and open unprecedented spaces for the participation of foreign capital in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, agribusiness, tourism, biotechnology and professional services. The authorities have been emphatic about drawing “red lines” that protect social achievements — public and free health and education — but within that framework, the scope for innovation and entrepreneurship is broader than ever.

It is true that the external context presents challenges. The tightening of the blockade, with measures such as energy and financial siege, has virtually stopped the electricity and fuel supply and closed the country’s currency revenue channels, which generates a scenario of restrictions that no economy would want or could endure, and more in a context of transformation.

However, the very leadership of the Cuban Revolution has turned this adversity into a catalyst for structural changes that, under normal conditions, would have taken much longer, showing capacity for change and adaptation to the environment. Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz himself, in 1993, when he said that “life, reality, the dramatic situation that the world is experiencing, this unipolar world, forces us to do what we would otherwise never have done if we had had capital and if we had had technology to do it.”

More possibilities for everyone

Forward-thinking international companies are already evaluating the comparative advantages of the island: a highly skilled workforce, political stability, rising legal certainty and a privileged geographic location to access the Latin American and Caribbean markets. This is of great importance, since the world economy is fundamentally moving through business relations.

The municipal decentralization and autonomy granted to state companies will allow a more agile decision-making and close to the needs of the territory. Although bureaucracy remains an obstacle to overcome, the commitment of the authorities to administrative modernization is firm and reflected in the creation of one-stop shops for investors and in the simplification of formalities.

The streets of Havana and the provinces reflect a mixture of positive expectations, uncertainty, caution and concerns, before which the Government tries to convey a message of trust and unity in the face of the immense challenges, among which are that these transformations are not a patch or a temporary “diversion” of the socialist construction model, but a long-term nation project, more adapted to our objective possibilities and the state of international relations in a general sense.

Openness to the market, the promotion of the private sector and the transformation of planning in a context of almost absolute scarcity in many fundamental goods, serves as food to increase inequality, which requires public policies of a management aimed at protecting a base of equity, especially from translating into greater supply of goods, quality employment and recovery of purchasing power.

The authorities have promised impact assessments before each measure to minimize unwanted effects and ensure that growth benefits everyone, because as President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez himself has said, here, despite the situation we have “give more opportunities to the social, we defend more inclusion, we defend more equity and defend more the possibilities for all”.

Cuba has taken an important step and is on the move. The 176 transformations approved in 2026 are not an act of despair, but a declaration of principles: Cuban socialism adapts to external changes in order to improve international insertion, to be more efficient, diverse and sustainable. This process offers investors, entrepreneurs and international allies a unique opportunity to participate in the construction of a new economic stage, in a country with intangible assets of enormous value.

The path will not be without obstacles, but the signs are clear: there is political will, the existing regulatory framework is improved and, above all, there is a qualified, laborious, entrepreneurial and supportive people eager to overcome the current critical situation. Investing in Cuba today is not only about betting on an emerging market with high growth potential, in an environment where legal security increases and where strategic sectors await reliable partners, but it is also an act of justice and defense of global stability. The challenges are real, but opportunities are also present. Cuba opens its doors with the certainty that the future is built with the right policies, strong alliances, innovation, much work and tangible results.

*The author is a Doctor of Economic Sciences. First Vice President of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba.

 

No To Terrorism, Genocide And Imperialism: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Bombing of Cubana 455

– *Isaac Saney, October 5, 2026 –

October 6, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack on Cubana Airliner Flight 455. In the western hemisphere this was the first and is the only bombing of a civilian airliner during flight. This heinous act, which resulted in the deaths of all 73 passengers and crew on board, stands as one of the most notorious examples of anti-Cuban terrorism carried out by violent counterrevolutionaries. The downing of Flight 455 was masterminded by anti-Cuban terrorists Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles—both of whom had longstanding ties to the U.S. intelligence services. These individuals were motivated by a deeply rooted hatred of Cuba’s revolutionary project and a desire to punish the Cuban people for daring to chart an independent and sovereign course.

This terrorist attack was not an isolated incident but part of a broader, more than six decades-long campaign of destabilization and aggression against Cuba, orchestrated by forces determined to undermine the Cuban Revolution. Since the Cuban Revolution’s triumph in 1959, the United States has relentlessly attacked the Cuban people through both military and economic means. These actions have included orchestrating an invasion, assassination attempts, terrorist attacks targeting civilians, and systematic economic sabotage. Many of these acts were planned or launched directly from U.S. soil. To date, these acts of terrorism have resulted in the deaths of, at least, 3,478 Cubans and the injury of 2,099 others. In 1997, a series of hotel bombings in Havana claimed the life of Fabio Di Celmo, a young Montrealer of Italian descent.

As noted, the October 6, 1976, terrorist attack on Cuba was part of a larger campaign against the Cuban Revolution: assassination attempts, sabotage, attacks on civilian targets, armed incursions, biological and economic warfare, and an economic blockade designed to undermine the material foundations of Cuban society. The history is not merely one of isolated acts committed by individuals. The October 6, 1976, act of terror was part of Operation Condor, a larger regional campaign targeting progressive movements across Latin America, all supported by Washington. These efforts sought to subdue any challenge to U.S. hegemony in the region and crush the aspirations of people struggling for self-determination and justice. Declassified U.S. records themselves document the profound entanglement between the Cuban conflict, U.S. intelligence operations and the wider regional struggle over Cuba and its revolutionary example.

Normalized State Terror and Genocide

Unable to defeat the Cuban Revolution after more than 60-years of economic war and campaign of destabilization, this economic war and campaign of destabilization and has now translated into a genocidal siege. The U.S. strategy aims to deny and extinguish Cuba’s right to self-determination, sovereignty, and independence, with the ultimate goal of reimposing U.S. dominance, hegemony, and control. The strategy seeks to starve the Cuban population into submission by crippling the economy, creating shortages and hardships, and deepening social inequalities that the Cuban Revolution has persistently worked to address. The goal is to incite the social unrest Washington so desperately desires, which would provide a pretext for U.S. intervention in Cuba.

This intent was clearly outlined by Lester D. Mallory, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and one of the architects of U.S. policy toward Cuba. In a now declassified and infamous memorandum of April 6, 1960, he stated:

“[m]ost Cubans support Castro…The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship. Every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba, denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation, and overthrow of the government.”

Thus, significance of October 6, 1976, extends beyond Cuba. It compels us to ask a more fundamental question: their crimes before the international community. When a genocide is normalized, the doors open to others. this is how fascism reemerges.

The defining danger of our present moment is not simply that states commit acts of terror. States have done so throughout modern history. The danger is that practices once publicly condemned as extraordinary are increasingly presented as routine, legitimate and necessary instruments of foreign policy. Extrajudicial killing, collective punishment, siege warfare, mass displacement and the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure are now standardized, systematized and regularized across the world. Reminiscent of the Martinican poet and intellectual Aimé Césaire's observation of the spread and universalization of European colonial barbarism.

This is particularly stark in the Western imperial order. Imperial power reserves for itself the right to determine whose lives may be extinguished in pursuit of its political objectives.

That is precisely why the memory of Cubana 455 matters.

What happens when terrorism and genocide cease to be regarded as an exceptional violation of the international order and becomes normalized as an instrument of that order?

We now live in era in which the Western imperial powers-particularly the United States - have normalized and routinized state terror (clear example, the illegal blowing of fishing boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific, killing more than 200 people) and use of genocide to further imperial aims. Indeed, state terror and genocide are no longer open policy choices and practices but in fact are fundamental an inevitable feature of imperialism in the 21st century. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel underscored: “The executioners of Gaza, Iran, and Cuba cannot continue threatening, bombing, and plundering, and then boast of their crimes before the international community. When a genocide is normalized, the doors open to others. this is how fascism reemerges."

We should not remember October 6, 1976, simply as an atrocity belonging to a distant Cold War past. We should remember it as an ever-prescient warning.

Fifty years ago, a civilian airliner was destroyed because its passengers happened to be associated with a society that had chosen a revolutionary and independent path. Today, the technologies and institutions of coercion have become vastly more sophisticated. Financial systems, sanctions regimes, drones, surveillance, precision weapons, naval power and information warfare allow states to impose enormous violence while creating physical and psychological distance from its consequences.

And yet there is another lesson in the story of Cubana 455: Resilience, Resistance and Revolutionary Resolve. Cuba Has Not Surrendered. Terror did not destroy the Cuban Revolution. Neither did invasion. Neither did assassination attempts. Neither did sabotage. Neither did six decades of economic warfare.

The objective articulated in Washington more than sixty years ago—to generate hunger, desperation and political overthrow—has not been achieved. Instead, Cuba has continued to insist upon its sovereignty and its right to determine its own political and social future.

The enormous social and economic costs of Washington’s genocidal siege are enormous. No people should be subjected to economic strangulation because they have chosen a political path unacceptable to a foreign power. The right to self-determination cannot be conditional upon conformity with imperial interests.

We honour the memory of the victims of the October 6, 1976, tragedy by standing with the people of Cuba as they defend their right to self-determination, free from violence and external interference.

Justice for the victims of terrorism!

End the U.S. blockade of Cuba!

No to Genocide!

Long live the Cuban Revolution!

*Isaac Saney is a Professor and Cuba and Black Studies Specialist in Black African Diaspora Studies and History, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He is also a member of the executive of the Canadian Network On Cuba.

 

"In Cuba we face a multidimensional aggression of the United States government"

Statement by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba in the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly...

in CubaMINREX 26/09/2026

Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba (Minrex)

Mr President of the General Assembly:

Madam Deputy Secretary-General:

In approximately 3 hours it will be exactly 66 years since the phrase of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, in memorable speech on this podium and I quote: “The philosophy of dispossession disappears, and the philosophy of war will have disappeared! Disappear the colonies, the exploitation of the countries by the monopolies disappears, and then humanity will have reached a true stage of progress!”

However, the advance of expansionism, acts of usurpation and conquest; military and economic aggression, is alarming. The U.S. government’s claim to impose peace by force is absurd and unrealizable. Fundamental pillars of international law and the United Nations, such as sovereign equality between States, are under constant attack.

The genocidal crime of Zionism against the Palestinian people, pirate attacks on vessels and extrajudicial executions in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific areas, military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran are new manifestations of this atrocity.

They also reflect the crisis of identity and relevance that has been imposed on the United Nations, including this General Assembly, the most universal, democratic and representative organ of the international community.

We are convinced of the indispensable need to preserve and strengthen the UN, while making it more democratic, effective and closer to the peoples.

In Cuba, as it is known, we face a multidimensional aggression of the United States government, a permanent, abusive and ruthless hostility that lasts almost seven decades. Since January 2026, it has intensified and made itself more cruel and dangerous with the establishment of an energy blockade that, through intimidation and coercion, prohibits all countries from exporting fuels to Cuba, which is equivalent to a naval blockade, typified in international law as an act of war.

Through successive measures, the U.S. government has been adding bans to all countries regarding products and services that cannot be exported or transported to Cuba. More than 7 thousand containers have been stopped in various ports, many of them with food, medicine and medical devices, or even hired by private Cuban companies.

In an unprecedented and unprecedented event, a superpower unilaterally deprives all States of the right to export the product they wish to the country that they wish and comprehensively and sustainably infringes freedom of trade and navigation.

In addition to this, the intimidation of entrepreneurs from various countries to abandon, against their will, their investments and businesses in Cuba; the obstacles and traps to prevent the arrival of absolutely legitimate commercial shipments; the pressures to prevent the flow of visitors and tourists; and the effort aimed at limiting as much as possible the legitimate access of Cuba to financing, technology and markets.

It reaches the height of pressuring sovereign governments to renounce medical services that they requested of us, for the benefit of their respective populations and that provide Cuban professionals with altruism, because the U.S. government opposes such cooperation, without importing the effect or damage on populations that are deprived of free and quality medical care, that is, deprived of an elementary human right. Last Thursday, the State Department, meeting this General Assembly, convened a humiliating meeting specifically with the receiving States to exert pressure and make threats.

According to the Secretary of State, the official policy of the United States is to close to Cuba every valve, exit or survival formula.

The impact of such a iron and ruthless siege has a human face. Economic war is directed against the people. It falls on the Cuban population as a whole. It takes lives, causes individual and collective pain, generates anguish. It is not a “collateral damage.” It is a deliberately designed policy to hurt Cuban families in the most sensitive, to prevent welfare and to hurt the dignity of the people.

It is an act of collective punishment, a crime also prohibited by international humanitarian law. The obvious and immediate goal is to induce a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, which is also a crime.

The U.S. government and the State Department have had to acknowledge the suffering inflicted, but they have the shamelessness and cynicism to insist on blaming the Cuban government. The executioner blames the victim.

They follow the formula defined by the State Department, since 1960, in the infamous Mallory memo, which established as official policy, until today, the overthrow of the Cuban government through economic suffocation and the extreme suffering of the people due to material deficiencies, hunger and despair.

The President of the United States declared on this podium a few days ago that Cuba is a failed state. If so, why then did they have to establish a fuel blockade, why did they establish secondary sanctions, why do they have to threaten, pursue and pressure all the states on the planet? The President of the United States also acknowledged that his government imposes on Cuba the greatest pressure that has ever been exerted. Months before, he had said and I quote, “It only remains to enter and destroy the place.”

The threat of the use of military force against Cuba persists, conduct that constitutes a violation of international law and a serious violation of the San Francisco Charter.

 If materialized, it would constitute a major crime. It would result in the deaths of Cubans and young Americans and enormous destruction. We hope it never happens. Cuba would exercise with all its determination and energy the legitimate right to defend itself. This aggression is accompanied by a brutal media and cognitive war, directed not only against the Cuban people, but also against American citizens and world public opinion. It is characterized by vulgar attempts and riots of interference in Cuba's internal affairs, which is the same another international crime.

They ask us what the United States is looking for with such aggressive conduct, it is a question that usually surprises us, because the representatives of that government have declared without self-conscious their objective of seizing Cuba, of controlling the country, of dominating the economy, that is, of annulling by way of aggression and economic suffocation the national sovereignty for which generations of Cubans have fought since the nineteenth century, first to achieve it and since 1959 achieved full freedom, to defend it

The American behavior rests in the fallacy declared earlier this year that Cuba constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, nonsense that that government repeats impudently. To vainly try to argue, he floods the media through his spokespeople and the publications he hires and pays with mendacious accusations, taking advantage of the growing government dominance of the United States over the large communication platforms. The US President himself repeated this fallacy in this enclosure, a few days ago.

Any minimally informed observer understands the fanciful and evil sense to present a developing nation like Cuba, relatively small and with a modestly performing economy, as a threat to the largest nuclear, military, technological and economic power on the planet.

This Organization and Member States have copious evidence that we are a country of peace, of Cuba ' s efforts for international cooperation, understanding and peaceful settlement of disputes, and of the active role we have always played in supporting the United Nations.

Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is!

Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is!

We have always been and remain ready for dialogue with the U.S. government to try to find a solution to bilateral differences on the basis of seriousness, respect, sovereign equality, observance of international law, without interference in internal affairs, or preconditions. We are open to business and business relationships with American companies as we are with any other country.

We are aware of the immense challenge facing our nation for its safety, its survival, the well-being of the people and the destiny of the Fatherland. We don't face the challenge passively. We do it with firmness and dignity.

On that basis, we are advancing in a process of change, profoundly transformative of the economic and social model, anchored in our historical experience.

On July 30 at the Seventh Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power President Miguel Díaz - Canel said: “In the face of the complex scenario I have described, how to persist in the construction of socialism, how to find the financial and material resources to maintain the social conquests of the Revolution? As in previous stages, particularly complex, such as the Special Period, when under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief, and subsequently with the leadership of the General of the Army, the economic model was transformed to adapt it to the challenging external circumstances, in the current context we have set out to undertake the transformations that the moment demands, under the leadership of the Party, in a collegiate and democratic way, in consultation with the people, without compromising independence, national sovereignty, or the social conquests of the Revolution.” End of date.

In that session, the National Assembly of People’s Power approved a novel program, with new practices, actors and economic concepts. All this is done within the current Constitution, approved in free and universal referendum; in the conception of our socialist State of law and social justice.

As the leader of the Cuban General Army Revolution Raúl Castro Ruz pointed out, the most important and I quote: “it will be the appropriate and timely implementation, with well-defined priorities and the conscious participation of the people.” End of date.

This process rests on the strength we have built, the potential of our human resources and the determination to respond to the needs of the people with the greatest possible social justice, without giving up on the effort to defend, in the most absolute and energetic way, sovereignty and the right to self-determination.

We know that we have the support of the international community and the solidarity of millions, including more and more American citizens. This is manifested in the repeated demonstrations and pronouncements of support for Cuba and for rejecting abusive aggression. It is expressed in the material solidarity aid that our people receive and that seeks to mitigate the enormous damage to the Cuban economy and society.

That spirit of solidarity and empathy is also expressed with special force among Cubans who reside permanently or temporarily outside the national territory and in their descendants, in particular here in the United States.

Mr President:

We reject the Monroe Doctrine and its Corollaries, as we repudiate any attempt at militarization, intervention or imperialist domination in Latin America and the Caribbean, proclaimed as a Zone of Peace, in 2014, precisely in Havana.

As a small island developing State, we stand in solidarity with our brothers who share a similar condition and with their alert to the worrying and inexorable advance of climate change.

More inclusive governance of new information and telecommunications technologies, particularly disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, is needed.

We reject the application of unilateral coercive measures. We express our support and solidarity to each and every nation that is victims of them.

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 Africa and the Caribbean deserve fair and differentiated treatment, as well as reparations for the horrors of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.

We reaffirm our solidarity with the Saharawi people and their right to self-determination.

We reaffirm our support for the one-China principle.

We are convinced that the current course of international relations, of disrespect for international law, contempt of the United Nations, and of imposing the unilateral will of the most powerful on other countries, through intimidation and coercion, is dangerous and untenable. The law of the jungle cannot be the future of humanity.

To prevent such practices, in addition to promoting peace and justice, it was that the generations that preceded us founded the United Nations and, for decades, developed and tried to enrich their activity. Let’s regain our role, today that we may be on time, before the United Nations goes down in history as an unrealized dream of great promises.

In the year of its centenary, let us trust as Fidel Castro Ruz, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, that, if we fight with determination, a better world will be possible.

Fatherland or Death!

We'll win!

---