"Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!": Solidarity with Cuba Expressed in New York

New York, USA – Cuba received expressions of solidarity in this city, where a delegation from the island is participating in the High-Level Segment of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

At a theater in the heart of Manhattan, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and his accompanying delegation were welcomed with applause and chants of "Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!"

Upon taking the stage, the Minister of Foreign Affairs thanked the American people for their constant solidarity with his nation and informed the audience about the key points from his speech delivered in the General Assembly plenary on Saturday.

Support for Palestine and Condemnation of the Blockade

Rodríguez reiterated his support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, calling for an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. After enumerating his arguments, he repeated the phrase "Free Palestine!" three times.

Furthermore, he addressed the impacts of the economic blockade imposed on Cuba for over six decades by successive US administrations, as well as the island's "illegal, arbitrary, and unjust" inclusion on the US list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism.

A Defense of Medical Cooperation

The Foreign Minister also spoke to the audience about what he called the "fierce propaganda campaign to discredit" Cuban medical collaboration, which he described as an *"immense expression of solidarity."_

"It is a campaign based on lies, slander, and defamation, characterized by political pressure, intimidation, and coercion against recipient countries," he asserted.

He emphasized that Cuba's cooperation is *"absolutely legitimate and totally coherent with the collaborative missions carried out by the UN."_ Asking *"Will anyone believe that we will retreat in the face of pressure and abandon our international commitments?"_ Rodríguez stated, *"Anyone who knows Cuba understands that we are not intimidated."_

He confirmed *"categorically that Cuba will maintain its commitments with each and every one of the countries with which we have bilateral medical cooperation agreements."_

*"We are willing to face all threats and slander without hesitating in our duty of solidarity,"_ the minister stated.

He noted that currently, 24,000 Cuban professionals provide medical services in 56 countries. *"And we will maintain our willingness to expand our cooperation with any country willing to commit with us for the benefit of its people,"_ Rodríguez added.

A Vow to Fight "In the Belly of the Beast"

For his part, Manolo De Los Santos, Executive Director of The People's Forum, which coordinated the event, expressed a commitment to continue the struggle within the United States.

*"I ask you to leave with a renewed vow that we will fight the blockade here in the belly of the beast, that here in the heart of the empire we will unmask the lies of [Donald] Trump and [Marco] Rubio,"_ he said.

The activist affirmed that the blockade's objective is to *"cause maximum pain and suffering to the entire Cuban people."_ He pointed out that the US *"cynically places Cuba on a list that should never have existed and to which Cuba has never belonged: the so-called list of State Sponsors of Terrorism."_

*"The United States,"_ he emphasized, *"ironically calls this whole scheme a policy, but we know what it is. The Cuban people know what it is. It is an economic war to destroy them."_ After listing the impacts of the US government's unilateral sanctions, De Los Santos asked, *"What is all this if not a calculated act of cruelty and collective punishment?"_

Cultural Interlude and International Support

The solidarity evening featured an excellent cultural moment with performances by the group Kindred Business and singer Desiree Jaha, who offered an emotional rendition of "Guantanamera," the world-renowned melody by Joseíto Fernández, an emblematic figure of Cuban popular music.

During this week's High-Level Segment at the UN, the demand for the US to lift the blockade against Cuba and remove the Caribbean nation from its unilateral list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism was voiced from the General Assembly podium on more than thirty separate occasions.