First, I would like to thank you, dear President and brother of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and to say that we welcome and support all the ideas and reflections you have shared with us as an introduction to this historic ALBA Summit.

Dear Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra, co-president of sister Nicaragua, and compañera Rosario Murillo, also co-president of that sister Republic;

Dear Prime Ministers of the brotherly Caribbean nations, Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica; Philip J. Pierre of Saint Lucia;

Esteemed Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the countries that make up ALBA;
Compañero Rander Peña, Executive Secretary of ALBA-TCP;
Heads of delegations, and representatives of the nations that comprise our Alliance;
Guests and participants:

I, first of all, Maduro, wish to convey a message of support and solidarity to the nations in the area that, like Cuba, were damaged by Hurricane Melissa and that still today face the ravages of such a colossal and destructive meteorological phenomenon, and to take this opportunity to once again call attention to the issue of climate change.

Climate change is not the product of a conspiracy theory, nor is it part of a leftist plan to generate public opinion, as some try to portray it. Climate change is a reality and the examples we have in the region and around the world demonstrate it. The time left for peoples and nations to reach the point of no return is increasingly short, and therefore, if the path of irrational consumerism continues, the human species is definitively condemned to perish.

Esteemed Heads of State and Government, brothers:

Latin America and the Caribbean, that wonderful and diverse world we martianly call Our America, faces threats today that have no precedent in recent decades.

The Monroe Doctrine has come out of the closet. Imperial appetites are no longer hidden; on the contrary, they are shamelessly displayed, as over a century ago, through gunboat diplomacy.

As in the neocolonial past, imperialism believes it has the power to impose itself by force on the independence and right to self-determination of the hemisphere's nations. It assumes, without moderation, authority and prerogatives it does not have to threaten with the use of force everything that resides in what it disrespectfully calls its "backyard."

The renewed colonialist pretensions of the Monroe Doctrine are constantly shown in the announcements and threatening actions against Venezuela, as a prelude to what an irresponsible and risky aggression would entail—a new corollary, heir to the discredited and defeated Roosevelt Corollary. Now we have the Trump Corollary.

The policy of the big stick and gunboat diplomacy, with its criminal record of aggressions and abuses against peoples, is the region's past, we cannot allow it to be the future!

The new United States National Security Strategy, from last November, incorporates an even more aggressive and offensive approach to that archaic but very dangerous doctrine.

Latin America and the Caribbean is no one's backyard, not even front yard. We are sovereign States. The resources and natural wealth of our nations belong to our peoples, as an inalienable heritage that no other country, no matter how powerful, has the right to claim or covet.

Only each nation has the prerogatives to dispose of that wealth, in the manner it deems appropriate according to its sovereign rights, with due respect and consideration for the planet's natural and ecological balance, free from interference and hegemonic pretensions from any other country.

The ostentatious, exaggerated, and unjustified naval deployment of United States naval forces in the Caribbean Sea and the deliberate threat of military aggression against the Bolivarian nation reveal a hegemonic and criminal purpose that should put all peoples and governments of the continent on alert. It is a danger that must be denounced in the most resolute manner, and from Cuba, today here at this ALBA Summit, we condemn it in the firmest and most categorical terms.

We also denounce the recent assault and seizure of an oil tanker by United States military forces, which irrefutably demonstrates the true intentions of this deployment. We vigorously condemn this vile act of piracy and theft of the Venezuelan people's resources, which constitutes a grave violation of International Law, contravenes the principles of freedom of navigation and free trade, and harms not only Venezuela but the international community as a whole. We are facing the new corsairs and pirates of the Caribbean.

The United States government should know that no one believes the false pretexts it wields to threaten Venezuela. Its declared war on drugs, the showy deployment of military vessels, the attacks on boats, and the indiscriminate killings that have been committed do not seek to curb the illegal entry, much less the consumption, of narcotics in the United States. But they do not care about that; they trust they can provoke fear or weakness among political leaders, among popular forces, and the rulers of the region.

We would be making a mistake and betraying more than 200 years of struggle for the independence of Our America if the Latin American and Caribbean governments falter in the duty to firmly confront the hegemonic pretension recently declared by the United States Government.

We reaffirm the firm commitment to the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, approved, as you said, in January 2014 during the II CELAC Summit in Havana. Its defense today constitutes a premise of the highest priority and an obligation to our peoples.

We reiterate the importance of respectful and civilized dialogue for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, disputes, and differences. We condemn the use or threat of force to achieve interests, in contravention of the United Nations Charter and International Law.

And we reiterate, once again, the firmest support for the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution, and for compañero president, our brother Nicolás Maduro Moros, committed to defending, at the cost of any sacrifice, the heroic history of the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which has given us abundant examples of gallantry, resistance, and victory in the face of adversity in leaders of the stature of Simón Bolívar, Antonio José de Sucre, and Hugo Chávez Frías.

Esteemed Heads of State and Government, friends of ALBA:

True Latin American and Caribbean integration will be extremely difficult if arbitrary exclusions and censorship in multilateral forums continue to be accepted, as has happened in the recent Summits of the Americas, including the most recent failed attempt to hold this hemispheric event this December. The decision to exclude Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba clearly responded to the guidelines of the United States Government. Unfortunately, some countries in the region complied, turning their backs on virtue, dignity, and respect among peoples.

Exclusions go against the essence of multilateralism and against the principle of the sovereign equality of States and International Law, by resorting to blackmail, intimidation, threat, and the use of force as methods of coercion against independent and sovereign countries.

Imperialism and the national oligarchies of the countries in the region bet on the worn-out resource of "divide and conquer." They thus attempt to promote confrontation and conflicts between nations of the continent and consequently sabotage efforts for the strengthening and consolidation of independent and genuine regional coordination mechanisms among our countries.

They also aim to destroy or prevent the emergence of sovereign governments that implement social policies and could become natural adversaries of global and predatory capitalism and of US hegemony, as this would become the main obstacle to the appropriation of nations' natural resources by large transnational corporations serving capital.

The United States, in its eagerness to destroy the progressive governments of the region and acting out of its arrogance, openly meddles in electoral processes to try to impose right-wing candidates aligned with its imperial appetites. This is demonstrated by the recent electoral process in Honduras, clear evidence of the empire's shameless interference to prevent the Honduran people from choosing their government freely and sovereignly.

Another expression of these ways of doing things is the application of unilateral coercive measures against countries that do not align with the interests of the United States and the geopolitical West. Such actions not only cause direct and deliberate harm to the sovereignty and independence of States but also violate the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs and hinder these countries' efforts to promote the legitimate development of their peoples.

We demand here the immediate and unconditional cessation of all these measures, a demand that has been historically supported by the international community, as reflected in the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, as well as in multiple statements by the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and China, and the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter.

As you know, Cuba has lived for more than sixty years under a harsh and brutal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States Government, the most severe and prolonged system of unilateral coercive measures ever imposed on a nation.

The effects of the blockade impact all spheres of society; no Cuban family escapes them. The scarcity of food and medicine, power cuts, difficulties in obtaining fuel on the international market, and the impossibility of repairing and maintaining the electrical infrastructure are some of the complex realities we Cubans face.

Since 2019 the blockade against Cuba has reached extreme levels, becoming increasingly cruel and inhumane. The consequences have intensified with Cuba's arbitrary inclusion on the US State Department's spurious unilateral list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism. After concluding her recent visit to the country and witnessing firsthand the reality of the Cuban people, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights called on the United States Government to lift or suspend all unilateral coercive measures applied against Cuba.

We thank the countries that have supported, and continue to support, the call to end the genocidal blockade against Cuba.

The Cuban people, heirs to the legacy of our heroes and martyrs and faithful to the teachings of Fidel and Raúl, have given countless examples of resistance and will to fight to confront imperial maneuvers and defend the independence and sovereignty of the homeland.

Dear Heads of State and Government, friends:

In such an adverse and dangerous context, it is essential, to forge our own paths, to remember and draw inspiration from the founding figures of ALBA.

As Maduro said, today marks 21 years since the birth of this Alliance, at the hand of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Commander Hugo Chávez Frías, two giants who dedicated their lives to continuing the work begun by Bolívar and Martí, in the interest of achieving the true integration of the peoples of Our America.

As Commander Chávez expressed: "[...] ALBA is the beginning, it is the dawn of a new era, of a new mechanism of cooperation; it is cooperation, it is not a market; it is not competition, it is complementarity, it is solidarity; it is placing man first, the human being, the social ahead, not the market."

Recently, as an expression of our convictions and principles, 20 years were completed since, in Mar del Plata, our peoples buried the abominable FTAA that sought to subjugate and drag nations into a new stage of colonization.

Today history calls us to become, without delay, the gravediggers of the US military, political, and economic aggression looming over all of Latin America and the Caribbean, inspired by examples such as that of Hugo Chávez, whose legacy reminds us that, despite hostile circumstances, victory is possible. His struggle and commitment guide us like a ray of light illuminating the darkest night.

On a day like today, we also remember the crucial role played by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz to demonstrate that integration is possible and urgent, through innovative mechanisms like the Peoples' Trade Treaties and social missions like Yo sí puedo and Operación Milagro. Both programs, unparalleled in magnitude in the world, enabled millions of people in the region to become literate and recover their vision in a short time, and contributed to the spiritual and material development of entire communities.

What these missions represented yesterday, we propose to do today, amid immense challenges, through new projects to consolidate the Alliance and contribute to the well-being of the peoples, based on the ALBA-TCP 2030 Strategic Agenda that we approved in Caracas in 2024.

Such are the cases, among others, of AgroALBA, whose objective is to promote investments that allow developing the agricultural, livestock, and poultry sectors, and also productive systems, in each of our countries, and of ALBA Azul, which aims to develop the fishing and aquatic capabilities of member countries. Both are already in the implementation phase in Cuba and we are committed to their success.

To this is added the readiness of the ALBA Ship, a means that will facilitate or is already facilitating trade and integration among the nations, and which we have already received in Cuban ports, even recently, bringing the generous help contributed by sister Venezuela and ALBA to the provinces and families severely affected by Hurricane Melissa.

Brother Maduro, compañeras and compañeros, our gratitude is infinite.

To continue advancing in the achievement of these and many other purposes, we have an essential and permanent reference in Fidel, who with his willpower and revolutionary example imbued this Alliance, from its birth, with an anti-imperialist spirit, a fierce defense of the self-determination of peoples, and also, like Raúl, with the conviction that Yes, it is possible. His vision was not limited to the economic, but understood the need to wage a true battle of ideas, to develop a cultural and educational project that promoted unity in diversity and the formation of a Latin American and Caribbean consciousness.

Remembering and honoring the Commander in Chief in the forging of this new type of Alliance model, based on solidarity, cooperation, complementarity, and social justice, on the eve of the year of the Centenary of his birth, is a commitment to his legacy and one of the greatest tributes the ALBA family can pay to a universal statesman like Fidel.

That ALBA is meeting today is a demonstration of fidelity to those principles, to its founders, Fidel and Chávez, and to its inspirers, Bolívar and Martí.

The imperialist appetites of the enemies will never be able to undermine the unity of the peoples, they will not be able to bend, with their threats and aggressions, the will to fight nor the faith in victory.

ALBA will continue to be an essential space of solidarity and dignified resistance in the face of destabilizing campaigns, pressure measures, and the most diverse forms of aggression.

Faithful to the ideas of Bolívar, Martí, Fidel, and Chávez, forged over more than two hundred years, we will continue fighting for a common goal: the unity, peace, and sovereignty of our peoples.

Ever Onward to Victory!

Thank you very much, Maduro (Applause).