Cuba Has Always Advocated for Respectful Dialogue Among Equals

Honorable Gustavo Petro, President of the Republic of Colombia,
Honorable António Costa, President of the European Council,
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Heads of Delegations and Participants:

Santa Marta, a city celebrating its fifth centennial and a witness to the physical passing of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, stands these days as an epicenter of political dialogue and cooperation between nations on both sides of the Atlantic.

We gather in this symbolic city, where the words of the Liberator of America resonate with greater force: “Confidence must give us peace. Good faith is not enough; it is necessary to show it, because men always see and seldom think.”

How can we forget the ideas of Bolívar, the father of the vision of unity and integration for the peoples of the Americas, at a time of great challenges and risks that seriously threaten peace in the world and in our region?

We cannot ignore in this great meeting the irrational onslaught by the U.S. government against Venezuela, and the ongoing deployment of an offensive U.S. military operation in the Caribbean, under the false pretext of the fight against drug trafficking. It is an unacceptable threat of aggression, a violation of sovereignty, which undermines the peace and cooperation that we Latin American and Caribbean countries want and must preserve.

We consider it essential that the final declaration of this Santa Marta summit reflects this reality that threatens us all, without reservation.

In the face of this imperialist hegemonic offensive and the endeavor to reactivate the Monroe Doctrine, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the Venezuelan government, its President, and the heroic Bolivarian people. The international community must mobilize to halt this direct aggression and the military actions in the Caribbean, which endanger PEACE, stability, and regional security.

We similarly support our Colombian and Mexican brothers and sisters, who, like all, are also victims of this threat.

Latin America and the Caribbean must be preserved as a Zone of Peace, as proclaimed since 2014 in Havana, during the II CELAC Summit.

Nor will the brutal genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, which has plunged the Palestinian people into an alarming humanitarian crisis, be erased from humanity's conscience.

Your Excellencies,

The progress achieved in our bi-regional partnership since the last Brussels Summit is insufficient. Even so, we believe it is possible to deepen our ties, based on trust and respect for sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, and the inalienable right of each country to decide its own political and socio-economic system; without imposing cultural, democratic, political, or human rights models, nor commercial and financial barriers that hinder the development of our region. Exclusionary and xenophobic policies to counter migrant flows must cease, and fair trade, climate finance, and development aid must be increased, while the external debt, paid several times over, should be forgiven.

A more supportive and collaborative approach between the countries of the European Union and CELAC will allow us to translate political will into tangible commitments and better address global challenges. Priority areas such as confronting climate change; food security; development financing; technology transfer; renewable energy; digital transformation; scientific research and innovation; and trade and investment require greater cooperation.

Your Excellencies,

Cuba has always advocated for respectful dialogue among equals, with a CELAC that is representative of our unity in diversity, defending its founding principles and common values.

We oppose all forms of external imposition that seek to subjugate any of its member States or violate their sovereignty. In this sense, we reject the exclusion of three countries from our region from the so-called Summit of the Americas, now postponed.

We appreciate the dignified, courageous, and principled stance of the majority of the countries present here, which, despite the enormous pressures they were subjected to, forcefully demanded at the United Nations an end to the blockade imposed by the United States against our country for over 60 years and rejected its extraterritorial impact.

We appreciate the denunciations of the arbitrary decision to once again include Cuba on the fraudulent and unilateral list of so-called State Sponsors of Terrorism.

The world witnessed the power of truth. The U.S. government's strategies of economic asphyxiation, blackmail, and media manipulation against our country were exposed, including the slander that seeks to question the altruistic work of Cuba's international medical collaboration.

We aspire for this Bi-regional Summit to contribute to strengthening a more solid CELAC-European Union relationship, oriented toward inclusive development and cooperation, with greater commitment and capacity for dialogue, on the basis of reciprocity and without interference, allowing us to achieve objectives and build spaces for mutual benefit.

Thank you very much.