Resounding Condemnation at UN of US Blockade Against Cuba

Leaders of Latin America, Africa and Asia expressed their rejection at the UN against the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, positions that were mentioned as part of the high-level discussions at the General Assembly. During the plenary of the 193 UN members, the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, the siege imposed by Washington against Cuba for more than half a century a Cold War anachronism.

"What terrible damage this doomed policy, condemned for 22 consecutive years by the General Assembly, has caused the Cuban people," he said, in the general discussion that will continue until next Tuesday with the attendance of asome 140 heads of state or Government.

Meanwhile, the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, called the US blockade the most unjust, severe and prolonged system of unilateral sanctions ever applied against any country.

"It is an act of genocide and colonialism, which must end immediately," he said.

South African head of State Jacob Zuma, was another government leader who called for the economic liberation of the island, where authorities recently said that the damages caused by the policy amount to more than a trillion U.S. dollars.

The president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said he was deeply troubled by the sanctions, reinforced by persecution and extraterritorial initiatives like the Torricelli (1992) and Helms Burton (1996) laws.

"The blockade is unethical and unjust due to its impact on innocent people," he said.

The first day of the general discussions at the 69th General Assembly session also featured a speech from the president of Chad, Idriss Déby Itno, who reiterated his demand for the siege to be lifted.

The highest-level UN forum will host on October 28 a new draft resolution on the necessity of ending the United States blockade, a similar initiative which last year received the support of 188 of its 193 members.