Monthly Archives: May 2022

Summit of the Americas

Díaz-Canel: The voice of Cuba will be heard at the Ninth Summit of the Americas

Díaz-Canel: The voice of Cuba will be heard at the Ninth Summit of the Americas
President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez thanked countries which have taken a courageous, dignified position, denouncing exclusions from the Summit of the Americas, and stated that he will not attend the meeting, in any case

Author: Yaima Puig Meneses | informacion@granmai.cu
may 26, 2022 11:05:11

 

 

 

 

 

 



Photo: Clacso
The First Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, speaking yesterday during a meeting of the Council of Ministers, reiterated Cuba’s positions and principles in relation to the upcoming Ninth Summit of the Americas, which It will take place June 6-10, in the U.S. city of Los Angeles.
We all know, he emphasized, that the government of the United States conceived this Summit of the Americas, from the beginning, as a non-inclusive event. “Given the government of the United States’ original design, its initial intentions, the Summit was not meant to be inclusive. It was their intention to exclude several countries, among them Cuba, despite the existence of a strong regional demand that exclusions from this type of event end,” he said.
On this note, he emphasized, “The United States has made an intense effort, exerting brutal pressure to demobilize the just and firm demand of the majority of countries in the region that the Summit be inclusive.”
In the context of the meeting of the Council of State, the highest body of the Cuban government, the President of the Republic thanked countries which have taken “a courageous, dignified position, raising their voices to denounce exclusions from the Summit of the Americas.”
We want to emphasize – he said – that we share the position of regional leaders who have firmly insisted that everyone must be invited on equal footing.
“Given the conditions in which all these processes related to the Summit have been conducted and the attitude maintained by the U.S. government, I can assure you that I will not attend the Summit of the Americas, in any case,” he stated.
Nonetheless – he concluded – as always, as has occurred in the past, we are conscious, we are convinced, that the voice of Cuba will make itself heard at the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

Cuba sovereign and independent

Cubans have the right to construct our socialist society

Cubans have the right to construct our socialist society
Cuban civic organizations condemn the exclusionary maneuvers of the U.S. government in preparations for the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California

Author: National news staff | informacion@granma.cu
may 24, 2022 08:05:51

 

 

 

 

 


Photo: Cubainformación
The exclusion of Cuban civil society organizations, from both virtual and face-to-face activities of the Summit of the Americas’ Civil Society Forum, was condemned by participants in the III Forum of Cuban Civil Society and Social Actors, under the banner of “Thinking Americas,” which took place yesterday at the José Martí National Library, convened by the Cuban United Nations Association.
In their final declaration, participants condemned the rejection of registrations submitted by Cuban representatives and the admission of only a small number of social activists, reflecting the selectivity, double standards, discriminatory policies and anti-democratic attitudes prevailing among organizers of the Summit.
The statement denounces the decision of the United States government, in its capacity as the host country, to unilaterally exclude Latin American and Caribbean nations, violating the principles of respect for sovereignty, the self-determination of peoples and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.
The fact that the U.S. government has ruled out the processing of visas in Havana for representatives of Cuban civil society, which organizers of the Summit’s parallel forums approved, is also repudiated in the document.
“This decision blatantly undermines the obligations of a host country, demonstrating its contempt for regional public opinion in support of an inclusive event, and reflects the essence of the hostile, interventionist policy of the United States government toward Cuba, with the futile objective of overthrowing the political, economic and social system which Cubans have chosen, in full exercise of our self-determination,” the statement noted.
Participants likewise condemned the brutal U.S. blockade of Cuba and reaffirmed their right “to continue building socialism in this, our beloved homeland,” and “a sustainable, resilient, equitable future, with all and for the good of all.”

José Martí’s Our America

When Martí became immortal

When Martí became immortal
Dos Ríos reminds us that, yes, there is life after death, as the place where the greatest man of his era fell, but continues to ride with us into every battle we face

Author: Mailenys Oliva Ferrales | informacion@granmai.cu
may 19, 2022 10:05:26

 

 

 

 



Photo: Roberto Fabelo
The story goes that on that fateful day, May 19, 1895, Martí held no other objective than that of independence, expressing the beautiful premonition of his sacrifice for Cuba, written with great lyricism, writing: “My verse will grow under the grass and I will also grow.”
That day he was unusually dressed as a civilian, with a dark jacket, bow tie and white pants. On his chest – as a badge of Mambí decorum – he wore the rosette of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, and shield his heart, a portrait of María Mantilla, “the beloved girl.”
Sitting solemnly on his horse, Baconao, he inspired respect and admiration, setting out with his head uncovered and his eyes radiating light. Martí was on his way to meet immortality.
“As he passed between a dry bush and a flowering shrub, the shots of the ambushers hit the Maestro’s body; the light from above bathed him, he released the steed’s bridles, and his slack body fell to lie on the beloved Cuban soil,” wrote historian Rolando Rodríguez, narrating the fateful moment.
The orphaned revolution lost its intellectual guide. That night there was no need to declare silence among the Mambisa troops. “The homeland-in-arms was in mourning.”
With bitter pain, Máximo Gómez would record in his diary: “We are left without the best of our comrades, and the soul, we could say, of the insurrection.”
Nonetheless, 127 years later, Dos Ríos reminds us that there is life after death, as the place where the greatest man of his era fell, but continues to ride with us, into every battle we face

Cuba / US Relations

Declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba

“One Limited Step in the Right Direction”

 

 

 

 

 



Declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba

Today, the government of the United States announced several measures, which are positive but of a very limited scope, regarding Cuba associated to the granting of visas, regular migration, flights to Cuban provinces, remittances and adjustments to the regulations governing transactions with the non-state sector.

Taking into account the nature of such measures, it would be possible to identify some of the promises made by President Biden during the electoral campaign of 2020 to alleviate the inhumane decisions adopted by President Trump’s administration, which tightened the blockade to unprecedented levels and increased the “maximum pressure” policy applied ever since against our country.

These announcements in no way modify the blockade or the main measures of economic siege adopted by Trump, such as the lists of Cuban entities subject to additional coercive measures; nor do they eliminate travelling restrictions for US citizens.

They do not reverse either the arbitrary and fraudulent inclusion of Cuba in the State Department list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, one of the main causes for the difficulties Cuba comes up against in its commercial and financial transactions in many parts of the world.

However, this is a limited step in the right direction, a response to the denunciations made by the Cuban people and government. It is also a response to the claims made by the US society and the Cubans residing in that country. This has been a demand by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and virtually all members of the United Nations, expressed in the overwhelming vote against the blockade. These are just demands which have been ignored by the government of the United States at a very high cost for our people.

Since 2019, the blockade has been tightened to the extreme, taking advantage, in an opportunistic way, of the context of the pandemic, the international crisis and the consequent economic depression. It would be no exaggeration to affirm that the consequences of this siege could be described as devastating. The increase in migration is an evidence of that.

In taking these steps, the State Department uses an openly hostile language, accompanied by traditional slanders and new fallacies that have become fashionable in the last few months, which show that neither the goals pursued by the US policy against Cuba nor its main instruments have changed

Understanding the true dimension of this announcement would require waiting until the implementing regulations are published.

The Government of Cuba reiterates its willingness to establish a respectful dialogue, on an equal footing, with the government of the United States, based on the UN Charter, without any interference in the internal affairs of States and with full respect for independence and sovereignty.

Havana, May 16, 2022