Cuba and the lessons of history

Luciano Vasapollo 

(Professor Economy & Statistics, Universitá La Sapienza, Rome) 

April 22, 2026

The blockade is not only economic. A narrative is being constructed that exempts the siege from responsibility and attributes all difficulties to alleged internal failures.

There is a lesson that history constantly repeats, but that many pretend to ignore: you cannot negotiate with imperialism without paying a price. And often that price is the loss of sovereignty, dignity and independence.

This is dramatically demonstrated today by what is happening in Iran. The military and political pressure exerted by the US and its allies is part of a long historical sequence: those who gave in, those who accepted compromises, were progressively dismantled.

From Iraq to Libya to Syria, the script is always the same. The illusion is that we can negotiate on equal terms. The reality is that we are entering a cycle where negotiation becomes surrender, and surrender becomes subordination.

It is no coincidence that, in the Iranian case, the resistance has produced a different result than in other scenarios. When a country does not surrender, when it maintains the capacity to respond, the balance is broken.

It is not a question of glorifying war, but of recognizing a political fact: peace is not built on capitulation.

We note that the same scheme is applied against Cuba. In this case, the strategy is slower but equally fierce: a criminal economic blockade, intensified in recent years, which seeks to suffocate the population and undermine a political project that has lasted for more than sixty-five years.

The objective is clear: to force the surrender of an island that has chosen an autonomous path, has asserted its sovereignty and continues to promote a socialist transition process based on internationalism.

A concrete, not rhetorical, internationalism. We saw it in Italy during the pandemic, when Cuban medical brigades arrived in Lombardy and Piedmont, providing aid where others had failed. We see it today with hundreds of doctors and nurses present in Calabria. "Doctors, not bombs": a position that says much more than a thousand statements.

And this is precisely what Trump wants to attack: not just a government, but an alternative model. A model that guarantees fundamental rights – housing, health care, education – and that continues to be a benchmark for many people in the world. Faced with this situation, the answer cannot be ambiguity.

It is necessary to continue to provide political support to the Cuban Revolution and to provide concrete assistance to its population, which is currently under unsustainable pressure. International solidarity initiatives, such as the Our America convoy, are heading in this direction: medicines, humanitarian aid and presence.

But another battle is also necessary: that of information.

Because the blockade is not only economic, but also related to the media. A narrative is being constructed that exempts the siege from responsibility and attributes all difficulties to alleged internal failures.

For this reason, it is essential to relaunch counter-information capable of restoring the veracity of the facts and explaining what Cuba really represents in today's world.

Because this issue is not just about Cuba or Iran. It's about everyone. It is about the right of peoples to choose their own destiny. And history, once again, teaches us that those who surrender to the empire lose everything. Those who resist, at least, retain their dignity.

Labyrinth

https://www.lahaine.org/mundo.php/cuba-y-las-lecciones-de-la-historia

 Letter writing campaign

Liberal Party caucus, 

House of Commons, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 

 Dear member of the Liberal Party caucus, House of Commons,

 

We write to you today from urgent concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Cuba. Canada can and must do more to assist the people of Cuba. We are: John Kirk, emeritus professor of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie University, and author and editor of several books about Cuba; and Jim Hodgson, retired now from 40 years of work among churches and NGOs in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Cuba.

 

We begin by reminding you of the Prime Minister’s remarks in his January Davos speech: Canadian values encompass “respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.”

 

These are noble goals, and Mr. Carney’s words were rightfully lauded by observers who saw the speech as a commitment by Canada to stand up to the bullying behaviour of Donald Trump.

But the need to respect the necessary “rules and values” he espoused at Davos is being put to the test in Cuba. And so far, the Canadian government response has been poor.

Canada and Cuba have important ties.  In 1959 Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker initiated diplomatic relations with revolutionary Cuba. Canada in 1962, along with Mexico, was the only country in the Western Hemisphere not to break relations with Cuba, despite massive pressure from Washington. In 1970, in a humanitarian gesture, Cuba was the only country willing to accept the FLQ terrorists—as a favour to Canada. In 1976 Pierre Trudeau became the first leader of a NATO country to visit Cuba. In 2000, Fidel Castro was invited by the family to be an honorary pallbearer at Trudeau’s funeral.

In more recent times Canada has been the most important country for Cuba’s economic ties.  Sherritt International, the large mining/energy company based in Toronto and Fort Saskatchewan, is one of the largest investors in Cuba. Canadians are also the largest block of tourists to Cuba—42 per cent of all tourists last year (750,000).  Before COVID-19 just over a million of us headed to Cuba’s beaches annually.

The US fuel blockade (condemned by United Nations human rights experts) has caused enormous harm to Cuba. It seeks to bring about regime change by starving the Cuban people into submission.  Trump’s actions threaten the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Cuba—key concepts in the Davos speech of Mr. Carney.

The impact of an illegal fuel blockade by the Trump administration has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis on the island.  There is very little fuel for anything. There are daily blackouts, and on three occasions recently the entire national grid collapsed. Water delivery, pumped by oil, is becoming increasingly scarce. Transportation is grinding to a halt. Food cannot be transported from the countryside to the cities. Factories have closed, as have universities. The much-vaunted public health system is in disarray. Some 96,000 Cubans (including 11,000 children) have had their surgery postponed, while 32,000 pregnant women are unable to have ultrasound.

“Health should be protected at all costs and never be at the mercy of geopolitics, energy blackouts and power outages,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization on March 25. Meanwhile, over 100 British MPs signed a motion calling on the U.K. government to uphold international law and oppose Trump’s increased sanctions against Cuba.

At the National Prayer Breakfast on March 24, Prime Minister Carney spoke of generosity, but the Canadian government has provided only limited aid to Cuba’s population this year: just $8 million channeled through UN agencies, or roughly $1 per Cuban. By contrast the Mexican government has already sent three Navy shiploads of food. Their president has been outspoken, supporting Cuba’s political independence, and condemning U.S. policy.  Why can’t Canada at least match what our CUSMA partner has done? 

The need to respect “rules and values” espoused by the Prime Minister is now being challenged by U.S. threats to “take” the island, whether it is a “friendly takeover” or a brutal regime change operation.  As Trump recently noted, “Whether I free it, take it—I think I can do anything I want with it.”

Surely you must feel offended by such crude threats against a developing country—one that has long ties with Canada. At Davos he spoke about the “power of legitimacy, integrity and rules.”  It is time for Canada to show some diplomatic backbone, providing material assistance to Cuba, while lobbying Washington to cease threatening this small island.

 

John Kirk, Halifax, N.S.

 

Jim Hodgson, Summerland, B.C.

 

_______________

Information: List of Nova Scotia Liberal MP's:

Jaime.Battiste@parl.gc.ca 

Kod.Blois@parl.gc.ca braedon.clark@parl.gc.ca 

Chris.dEntremont@parl.gc.ca 

lenametlege.diab@parl.gc.ca jessica.fancy@parl.gc.ca

darren.fisher@parl.gc.ca sean.fraser@parl.gc.ca 

alana.hirtle@parl.gc.ca 

Mike.Kelloway@parl.gc.ca 

shannon.miedema@parl.gc.ca

 

Cuba versus the long hand of Empire…

Crispian Balmer explains: Calabria is under increased pressure from the US government to stop the arrival of Cuban doctors to the region but the US ignores the region's reality of high need for doctors and the impact of the actual presence of high quality Cuban physicians in Calabria. Furthermore, there is a government signed agreement with Cuba and systems in place are currently running very well. Cuban doctors in Calabria provide medical support and keep hospitals open and running, they are also approved by Roberto Occhiuto Governor of the region. (1)

When Washington announced January this year that Cuba poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat to US security” it moved in to squeeze the Cuban economy to its limits and beyond decades of criminal embargo. The claims of Cuba being a threat are false, the US is just unhappy with the level of hardships imposed on Cubans and wants more. Bloomberg reported the US charge d'affaires to Cuba, Mike Hammer, “travelled to Italy as part of a US push to curtail Havana’s lucrative overseas medical missions.” In 2023 Calabria signed a deal with Cuba to bring nearly 500 Cuban doctors and Governor Occhiuto has plans to expand it. When Hammer arrived Occhiuto told Hammer that plans will be reviewed to seek additional hospital staff from other parts of the world. (2)

 

Occhiuto intent was to increase the mission of Cuban doctors to 1000 Cuban staff, it had worked well and it needed expanding, but he had to change his mind because of Washington; he now considers alternatives and advertises for applications elsewhere: “Our region is ready to welcome all doctors from within the EU, from outside the EU, and Cubans not tied to the existing mission who independently want to come work in Calabria.” The US State Department argues that Cuba’s medical missions amount to human trafficking, which is untrue and both Cuba and Calabria denied it to no avail. (2)

 

The US strategy against Cuba has been applied elsewhere. In Latin American countries like Honduras, for example, as soon as the conservative government of Nasry Asfura took power a decision to not renew the agreement with Cuba of the previous Honduran government (Xiomara Castro) was challenged and ended. In Ecuador as soon as Daniel Noboa took power the rupture of diplomatic relations with Cuba and the expulsion of all his qualified personnel was announced. Trump himself called a meeting on March 7 (the “Shield of Americas Summit”) to discuss the US Donroe doctrine with nine presidents of the twelve Latin American countries invited. Javier Milei (Argentina), Rodrigo Paz Pereira (Bolivia), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), Irfaen Ali (Guyana), Tito Asfura (Honduras), Santiago Peña (Paraguay) were present while Jose Antonio Kast (Chile) was not, but Trump announced all their support. 

The meeting, which took place two months after Trump invaded Venezuela during the night to kidnap president Nicolas Maduro tells a story. It was a meaningful meeting in which ten Latin American presidents openly supported Trump: it exposed Latin American subordination to the US and to an openly aggressive Administration. Trump himself brought the topic of Cuba to the forefront saying: “Cuba, dependent on Venezuelan oil, is now facing collapse and that great change is soon coming” -he hinted at regime change.  (3)

 

At the same time Trump launched his “17-Nation Counter Cartel Coalition” a type of military coalition including 12 nations plus the US. In the internet page of “Border Security Counterterrorism Customs & Immigration” Megan Norris writes about both events and describes the US operation to kidnap President Maduro with highlights from Trump himself as “taking no more than 18 minutes to complete and losing no American lives.”  Norris explains that in place of President Maduro, vice-President Rodriguez was named as temporary president. While the Maduro team were mainly following Venezuelan Law, Norris spells the first name of Venezuela temporary President as “Dulce” Rodriguez -her actual first name is Delcy, a mistake that brings to mind that the careless nature of current US Administration does not stop at its official Homeland Security page. (4)

 

The US systematic attack of Cuba with the complicity of servile Latin American governments, sadly, it is not news. Its focus on the Cuban medical brigades, however, it is strategic and it tries to undermine “the credibility of the work of medical brigades around the world” , a work which has been very successful and welcome. This objective is the reason why the US announced last year the “expansion of visa restrictions for those who benefit from the labor of Cuban doctors abroad. And why Cuba was blacklisted as failing to meet minimum standards in the fight against human trafficking. Workers and officials of the Cuban government are targets, also targets are the countries that maintain medical or health cooperation programs with Cuba.” (3)

 

The Cuban medical service abroad, based on four pillars, includes the medical emergency response brigades (during Covid the Henry Reeve Brigade served 1.26 million people in 40 countries), the  establishment of public health bodies abroad, the medical training of foreigners, and the medical training and care for foreign patients. It started in Cuba in 1963. Since then Cuba has sent more than 400 thousand doctors, nurses and sanitary personnel to at least 180 countries. Cuba invests 6.6% of its GDP yearly in Official Assistance for Development -the highest proportion allocated by any country in the world (the average in Europe is 0.39 percent of GDP and in the US is 0.17 percent of GDP). Cuba contributes 15 to 30 times more than first world countries and does it despite a suffocating blockade. (2)

 

Prior to some Latin American countries abandoning the medical programs, Cuban medical brigades operated in more than 60 countries, more than 40 percent of the countries benefiting pay nothing for the assistance received. Dyron Roque Lazo, from ALBA Secretariat, explains that the decision of the Honduran new government is in line with Washington policies against Cuba and with a new neoconservative wave in the region. It proves, however, not only Honduran lack of foreign policy independence but its lack of humanity and care for its own population -poor, vulnerable and left without medical assistance. Cuban Ambassador Juan Loforte explains that in Honduras, Cuban doctors worked in hospitals, clinics and health centers throughout the country, and in the two years of the program half a million consultations and more than 10 thousand surgeries were completed. Operation Miracle included five ophthalmological clinics, completing 40 thousand consultations and more than 7 thousand surgeries. In private clinics eye surgeries cost between 4500 and 5700 dollars which most people cannot afford. Each free ophthalmological center has capacity to attend between 80 and 120 patients daily, and to complete between 10 to 15 daily surgeries at no cost to people. Closing these clinics is a big threat to the visual health of the population and inhumane. (2)

A very aggressive disinformation campaign supported by main information outlets controlled by money and oligarchic families and groups took place in Honduras where rumors and half truths became common, including rumors that Cuban doctors were “spies.” The model has worked in other places, in Paraguay, Jamaica, Bahamas, Guyana, Antigua y Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where decisions were taken to put an end to the Cuban Missions. Even the “progressive” government of Bernardo Arevalo in Guatemala announced the end of an agreement with Cuba that had lasted close to 30 years. Brainwashing works. It also shows the degree of subordination to the US and that even a government often presented as a new “Guatemalan Spring” fails to stand up to Washington. (2)

In Calabria (Italy) the struggle to keep Cuban Medical Brigades has not ended. The brigades contribution in addressing people’s needs in emergencies, gynecology, orthopedics, radiology, cardiology and pediatrics, and working in 27 hospitals in the provinces of Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia has been fundamental. The group of Cuban professionals in Calabria did not return to Cuba and are in Calabria today working in health structures throughout the region. Governor Occhiuto said: "Something that is not in dispute is that the Cuban doctors who currently provide their service in Calabria – a little more than 400 – are staying. They have been and continue to be essential to guarantee the functioning of health structures." 

Most in Calabria agree. The deputy of the Green and Left Alliance, Angelo Bonelli said: "the pressures of the United States government on the presence of Cuban doctors in our public health system are unacceptable. His contribution in Calabria has been fundamental and we can only express our gratitude for his professionalism. I urge Prime Minister (Giorgia) Meloni to intervene to counter the undue interference of a foreign country in the internal affairs of another country." (5)

Let's hope Italy shows capacity to protect its sovereignty by saying No to the empire and becoming exemplary in Europe. Let's hope Latin America is able to stand for its rights and for its sovereignty to stand with Cuba.

Say NO to the US blockade of Cuba.

NSCUBA (Nova Scotia)

1.    Crispian Balmer, The Italian region of Calabria resists US pressure to curb the use of Cuban doctors, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/italian-region-resists-us-pressure-curb-use-cuban-doctors-2026-02-23/

2.    Giorgio Trucchi, La ofensiva de Washington contra las Brigadas Médicas Cubanas, Pressenza, Mar 9, 2026, https://www.pressenza.com/es/2026/03/la-ofensiva-de-washington-contra-las-brigadas-medicas-cubanas/

3.    Edward Helmore, Shield of the Americas Summit, Mar 7, 2026. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/07/trump-shield-of-americas-summit

4.    Megan Norris, Border Security Counterterrorism Customs & Immigration internet page, “Trump Launches 17-Nation Counter Cartel Coalition at Shield of the Americas Summit.  https://www.hstoday.us/featured/trump-launches-17-nation-co

5.    Giorgio Trucchi, Los médicos cubanos no se van de Calabria, Werken Rojo, Kaos en la Red, March 27, 2026. https://werkenrojo.cl/los-medicos-cubanos-no-se-van-de-calabria/