Unity Will Enable Us to Strengthen Our Peoples: PM Golsalves

On Friday, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves rejected the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba during the 22nd meeting of the Political Council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP).

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“At the Summit of the Americas many things were said... but so far we have not seen any change with regard to Venezuela and Cuba. The criminal embargo continues. We have to keep talking about these issues,” he said.

In June, President Joe Biden's administration excluded Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba from the Los Angeles Summit. In rejection of this form of exclusion, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and other Latin American countries did not attend that event.

Gonsalves also recalled that the international financial system operates as an instrument to execute the economic blockade against nations that do not follow Washington's wishes.

“We must continue to denounce the illegal use of financial systems. This has innocent victims who suffer from these actions,” he said, explaining that taking measures does not only affect the sanctioned country.

"ALBA-TCP is a broad unit in Latin America and the Caribbean... so we must analyze how to respond to the current situation," Gonsalves pointed out, referring to global political and economic processes affecting developing countries.

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Faria, who was also present at the Political Council meeting, rejected the traditional instruments of the U.S. foreign policy.

"The ALBA-TCP countries reject the imposition of unilateral coercive measures against sovereign states. Besides violating international law and the United Nations Charter, they attack our peoples' development, economy, and stability," he pointed out.