“The U.S. are using Internet as a weapon of aggression against the country,” categorically declared First Deputy Minister of Communications in Cuba, Wilfredo González Vidal, after denouncing the U.S. government’s attempts to create an allegedly free, open Internet, according to a note released by the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which actually confirms the blockade imposed on us.

He also reiterated that “this is an open violation to our sovereignty and it has been denounced to the International Union of Communication, condemning the use of technologies from that country in order to destabilize the society.”

Cuba, as an independent and sovereign country, rejects any meddling in the field of Cuba’s cyberspace and its radio spectrum, which, he highlighted, not only violates our national regulations but also those international conventions such as the ITU Convention.

“The U.S. government has no right to allow, encourage, and even less finance the use of technologies to provide Internet to Cubans. That is a double standard policy: that is policy of blockade and subversion to use technologies as unconventional weapon of war,” he stated.

The Deputy Ministry also pointed out that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have breached its own policies and regulations by allowing the posting of messages of hatred against Cuba, which has been denounced by our country.

In addition to this, cyber-attacks against Cuban institutional websites like that of the Presidency and other media have occurred.

Simultaneously, Cuba is banned from more than 60 digital websites. Therefore, Cuba is not allowed to search for alternative and online training information which could result in a tangible improvement for Cuban services as well as the communication among families.

González Vidal noted that even when our island is surrounded by a lot of undersea fiber-optic cable, we were never allowed to use any of them. And it was not until 2013 when, thanks to the will of Chávez and Fidel, we could use a cable of this kind. This, without a doubt, confirms the double standard policy of the U.S. government.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff