Cuban government calls for international solidarity amid US pressure

New York (ANTARA) - The Cuban government has called on the international community to show solidarity with Havana as US pressure intensifies, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said on Tuesday (26 May).

‘I humbly request that it is time to show solidarity with Cuba, which has always shown solidarity with others and never retreated in the face of any risk, even at times putting the lives of the Cuban people at stake,’ Rodriguez told the United Nations Security Council.

The Cuban diplomat also urged Latin America and the Caribbean to adhere to the 2014 declaration by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which designated the region as a zone of peace.

‘It is time for broad international efforts that transcend political differences, ideological approaches, and historical divisions. It is time to set limits and prevent actions that threaten and harm national interests, endangering all nations and the sovereignty of every country,’ Rodriguez added.

Havana stated that the United States is using an energy embargo to strangle the island’s economy and worsen living conditions for its residents.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, on 3 May, stated that US military threats against Cuba have reached unprecedented levels.

He warned that any aggression towards the island would be met with the Cuban people’s resolve to defend their sovereignty and independence.

Additionally, the US Department of Justice on 20 May charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five military officers in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two aircraft linked to the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

Havana dismissed the charges as political provocation, emphasising that Cuba acted in self-defence after repeated violations of its airspace by the group’s aircraft.