‘Cuba Doesn’t Betray Its Brothers’: Ratifies Support For Venezuela

Cuba’s Ambassador to Venezuela Rogelio Polanco ratified Tuesday the support of the Caribbean island to President Nicolas Maduro and the civic-military union of the Venezuelan people, despite attempts by the United States to plant animosity between both nations. 

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"The imperial spokesmen who recycle slander to make us betray the Bolivarian Republic, victims of unconventional war, are wrong," Polanco emphasized, adding that Cuba “doesn’t betray its brothers nor its principles.”

This comes as the U.S. Treasury amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations on Friday to cap the amount of money family members can send to Cuba, ban donations and money transfers to or from the island through U.S. banks. 

The new economic sanctions, which go into effect on Oct. 9, will restrict the remittances to US$ 1,000 per quarter, no longer allow transfers of money to nonfamily members and instate a ban on remittance donations. Their aim is to “punish” Cuba for continuing to support Venezuela.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement that the measures will “deny Cuba access to hard currency” in order to “financially isolate” the island. 

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza also expressed his support stating that the country “rejects the new aggression of Donald Trump against the brother Cuban people.”

While warning that through the use of “threats and extortion, the dominant U.S. elite intends to break the bonds of friendship and complementarity between two peoples who walk together with the path of social justice and peace.”