Thank you, Keith Bennett, for inviting me to share in this wonderful celebration; thank you all for standing with Cuba.
Dear comrades:
No people have ever had to endure 67 years of economic blockade.
No country in history has had to withstand the pressure of facing the greatest empire known to humankind for 67 years, just 90 miles away, whilst struggling to survive day by day.
This firm conviction is rooted in a profound ideal of independence and the defence of sovereignty, fuelled by the sacrifice of thousands of Cubans over more than 150 years of struggle, right up to the present day, as we continue to fight against US imperialism.
The resistance shown by the Cuban people has been an act of defiance against the US government; it constitutes a formidable response to the constant threats and the multidimensional war we face every day.
But none of this effort would have been possible without the support of brothers and sisters like you and many others who, from all corners of the globe and throughout history, have stood alongside the noble causes of the Cuban people.
The year 2026 has marked a turning point for our country. On 29 January, just a few days after re-including Cuba on the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, President Trump declared Cuba to be an unusual and extraordinary threat to the security of the United States, using this act to justify the imposition of the cruelest energy blockade ever suffered by a nation.
Under this act of war—which in practice amounts to a naval blockade—any country from whose territory fuel is exported to Cuba faces the threat of retaliatory tariffs.
For the past seven months, fuel that is legitimately destined for Cuban ports has been targeted. They are not merely detaining a ship, a supplier, a shipping company or an insurer; they are suffocating an entire country.
Not only has transport in Cuba been paralysed, but health services are also being affected, with hospitals left in the dark for more than 20 hours a day; water supplies, medicines and food are being cut off; our children, who attend school with scant resources, are suffering; our elderly, whose pensions are insufficient, are suffering; our sick, who face waiting lists of several months for surgery, are suffering; and attempts are being made to sow despair. The lives of millions of human beings are being ruined.
On May 1st itself, whilst the people of Cuba were celebrating Labour Day, the President of the United States signed the fourth executive order against the Cuban people in four months, which significantly intensifies the war waged against our small island.
This executive order is undoubtedly the most significant qualitative expansion of the genocidal blockade, now in its 67th year. It introduces secondary sanctions against entities, organisations and individuals from third countries that operate or have operated in Cuba.
This order demonstrates the worrying ability of US regime to impose on all countries, their companies, organisations and individuals the obligation to comply with the economic blockade against Cuba, regardless of their political positions, the will of their peoples or the nature of their relationship with Cuba.
Under the threat posed by this executive order, major hotel groups and companies involved in the exploitation of natural resources have withdrawn from their operations in Cuba, and sanctions have also been imposed on leading figures in our party and government, including the President of our country, Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel, and his family members.
The absurdity of the policy of maximum pressure and intimidation being waged against our country was highlighted on 20 of May, when our Army General Raúl Castro was falsely accused of ordering the shooting down, in international waters, of two light aircraft belonging to a terrorist group based in Miami, whose actions were known to and encouraged by the US government.
The blockade is not the only form of aggression; we are facing a multidimensional war in which tolerance and impunity converge with those who organise terrorist and violent acts against Cuba from US territory and those who, every day, incite violence and sedition, banking on social unrest in the streets of Cuba.
This is also accompanied by a multi-million-dollar government programme waging a cognitive war against the Cuban people, aimed at spreading disinformation, disorienting, demobilising, undermining national identity and patriotic spirit, wounding Cuban sensibilities, damaging the sense of dignity, and undermining the monolithic unity of the Cuban people.
In this regard, senior officials in the US government and their spokespeople are attempting to impose the narrative that Cuba is a failed state; they are seeking to blame the political system and its leaders for the state of the economy, and they proclaim that Cuba is next on the Donald Trump regime’s to-do list.
No country has been able to withstand such pressure; no economy would have been able to overcome such suffocating measures; it is only the Cuban people’s unbreakable will to fight that enables us to continue to exist, free and sovereign.
The collective punishment to which the noble Cuban people are being subjected will only have the destructive effect intended, if the rest of the world’s countries allow themselves to be intimidated, if they leave their citizens, businesses and organisations unprotected, and if their peoples allow a foreign power to subjugate them.
These measures will not bring about the surrender of Cuba that the United States seeks. We strive to promote constructive dialogue based on respect; we constantly make it clear, with good reason, that it would be a mistake for the United States to opt for military aggression, however limited it may be, because we will certainly exercise our right to self-defence to the very end.
In the face of all this adversity, Cuba is defending itself; with the invaluable help of the peoples and governments of China, Vietnam, Mexico and Russia, Cuba is tackling these challenges and bringing about profound strategic changes, in areas from energy generation to its economic model.
We know that Cuba is not alone; the solidarity shown by each and every one of you is not merely a symbolic gesture – you have also supported us materially through your donations – but, most importantly, it demonstrates the courage and determination to stand by friends in times of adversity.
Cuba is also holding out thanks to you.
Thank you, friends, for your support for the ‘Cuba Vive’ medical appeal.
As our national hero, José Martí said at the resumption of our wars of independence: ‘Whoever stands up for Cuba today stands up for all time.’
VIVA CUBA!!