Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla denounced in an exclusive interview with teleSUR the intensification of U.S. pressure against the international community to maintain the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, and reaffirmed that the UN General Assembly will vote again in favor of its elimination.

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UNGA Debates on U.S. Blockade Against Cuba

In a dialogue with journalist Marcela Rodríguez, the Cuban Foreign Minister stressed that the debate held at the United Nations General Assembly has had the participation of more than seven groups of countries, including the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 and China, which spoke on behalf of more than 100 States each. in addition to 22 individual national interventions.

Rodriguez stressed that the majority of the member countries spoke out “in defense of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the demand for the immediate and unconditional cessation of the blockade on Cuba,” as well as against the unjustified inclusion of the country in the U.S. list of alleged sponsors of terrorism.

He pointed out that Cuba is attending this debate in the midst of a complex context: the imminent arrival of Hurricane Melissa, which threatens eastern Cuba and several Caribbean islands, and the persistence of a blockade that aggravates the humanitarian and economic situation of the island.

During the interview, Rodríguez explained that his intervention before the plenary will focus on three main axes. First, it will address the humanitarian and daily damage of the blockade on Cuban families: power cuts, shortages of food and medicine, the transportation crisis and the loss of purchasing power. . “These are damages that transcend the macroeconomic, they have repercussions on the lives of every Cuban man and woman,” he said.

Secondly, the minister referred to the U.S. government’s policy of aggression towards Latin America, which he described as an attempt to reestablish the Monroe Doctrine and to reimpose the “gunboat policy” through military deployment against Venezuela and the region.

The third point of his presentation will address the violation of international law represented by the application of a genocidal blockade, which he described as “a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people.”

“The representative of the United States lies”

The Foreign Minister responded to the statements of the US delegate to the UN, whom he accused of lying and disrespecting the General Assembly.

“This year, the State Department has deployed a pressure campaign against virtually every country, particularly in Europe. They have sent memos, letters and warnings to modify vows and speeches. It is a sign of desperation, of recognition of the isolation in which the United States government finds itself,” he said.

Rodriguez denounced that the policy against Cuba is “personal and corrupt,” driven by political interests in the state of Florida, and added that “it betrays the interests of the American people, who mostly support the normalization of relations.”

On the intervention of the U.S. representative, he explained: “He offended the president of the General Assembly, all the member states, he spoke arrogantly and without civility. That is why I felt obliged to ask that he be called to order.”

Millions in damages and untold suffering

In his economic balance, Rodríguez Parrilla revealed that the damage caused by the blockade in the last year amounts to more than 7,000 million dollars, while the accumulated losses in six decades are “huge.” “The extreme tightening of the blockade since 2019 demonstrates an increase of more than 40% in economic damages. But what cannot be counted, he said, is the suffering, anxiety and lack that it causes every day in our families. Even so, the Cuban people remain united and aware that the blockade is the main cause of our difficulties.”

The Foreign Minister assured that Cuba will resist and win: “Tomorrow will be a resounding victory for our people, the Revolution and the free peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. It will be a triumph of international law, reason and justice.”

“The Monroe Doctrine has historically failed”

Referring to the regional context, the Cuban diplomat warned that the United States seeks to return the continent to supremacist and racist domination.

“Its military deployment does not combat drug trafficking, but constitutes an existential threat against the independence of Venezuela and the sovereignty of the entire region,” he said, while reiterating that Cuba and Venezuela will always be together in any circumstance.

Rodriguez said the so-called Monroe Doctrine is “obsolete and historically defeated,” though he warned that it remains dangerous because of its attempt to restore old forms of domination.

“The peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean will persist in the defense of the principles bequeathed by Bolívar, Martí, Fidel and Chávez,” he said.

He acknowledged the words of support of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and other Caribbean countries that, in the General Assembly, have directly pointed out the responsibility of the United States Government in the “cruel, genocidal and abusive” policy against Cuba. Rodríguez closed the interview by reaffirming his confidence in the vote to be held at the UN: “We will defend peace, we will defend sovereignty. And tomorrow all peoples will have a great victory in the General Assembly

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