Links between U.S. institute and subversion against Cuba denounced

Havana, April 7 (RHC) --The International Republican Institute (IRI) of the United States maintains a program towards Cuba that finances and promotes actions to destabilize the island's government.

According to a report in Wednesday's edition of  Granma newspaper, the plan includes training, distribution of materials, money, technical means and equipment, among activists and counterrevolutionary elements.

Its funds come from the budget granted annually by the U.S. Congress to the State Department and from the so-called 'independent' entities, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)', the article notes.

According to Granma, the first IRI program against Cuba dates back to 1993 and aimed to stimulate a transition process in the country to overthrow the Revolution.

The financing of IRI programs exceeds 11 million dollars in contracts over several years, Granma states.

In the document Accelerating the transition to democracy in Cuba, it is reported that 'the Institute delivered cell phones and information technology equipment...'.

Similarly, it advanced 'in new media initiatives, which can provide network partners on the island with greater access to information, support material, and offline communication.'

The newspaper, the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, also emphasized that the efforts of the enemies of the Revolution are aimed at 'dominating information or, at least, exerting a marked influence on what is read, heard, and seen in the Caribbean nation, to control internal opinion'.

According to Granma, the IRI 'has been at the forefront of this battle, in an obstinate and unethical attitude of interference, in violation of international laws'.

Recently, a report by this same newspaper stated that agencies, companies, and organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) had allocated close to 250 million dollars in the last two decades for subversion programs against Cuba.