Miguel Díaz-Canel returned to Cuba this Saturday night from the Dominican Republic, where he took part in the XXVIII Iberoamerican Summitto go to the vote “very early”, as the Council Presidency announced On twitter.
Before his departure, the President, in a speech reported by the Cuban state news agency (ACN), accused the United States of attempts to “destabilize” Cuba and “recolonize” Latin America.
Díaz-Canel believed that the summit “provided an opportunity to translate into concrete action the quest for progress towards a more equitable, supportive and sustainable region” and that “the road to that noble goal is undeniably changing the current unfair international order includes, irrational and exclusive”,
He reiterated the need to resolve the issue of foreign debt, which he said “has been paid multiple times but is multiplying, perpetuating financial plunder and economic dependence on developing countries.”
The Cuban regime owes money to several countries. At the moment he is awaiting the decision of the trial he faced in London, last January. In this process, the CRF I group demanded the payment of debts dating back to the 1980s.
Díaz-Canel also pointed to greenhouse gases that are “recording concentration records. In the Caribbean we are being hit by increasingly devastating hurricanes. We must act immediately to avoid a climate catastrophe.”
He also claimed that the post-Covid-19 world was “more divided, unfair and unequal” and questioned that “nearly $2 trillion” was “wasted on arms,” without mentioning the governments that among other things, invest the most in weapons that I should have included Russia, an ally of the Cuban regime.
“In these times of multidimensional crises, which hit the countries of the South with particular force, and of incessant attempts to fragment our unity, Cuba has taken over the presidency of the Group of 77 + China with full commitment. We take this high responsibility, the belief that solidarity and cooperation must be at the service of development,” he said.
He was also satisfied with “the nomination of Cuba as the venue for the XXIV Conference of Ibero-American Water Directorswhich we will host in Havana in November 2023″.
Since he could not be absent from his speech, Díaz-Canel devoted a space to accusing the United States of trying to destabilize Cuba and to complain that his government is among those who support terrorism.
“The United States government is determined to destabilize our country and destroy the Cuban Revolution. Since 2019, it has escalated the blockade against Cuba to extreme levels, intentionally causing maximum harm to Cuban families, sowing discouragement and discontent, and stifling the economy.
“The human damage caused by this policy, which cannot be quantified, is enormous and cruel,” he said, although the “blockade” did not prevent the Cuban regime from continuing to build hotels on the island even in the worst moments of the pandemic Covid-19 that led to a hospital collapse.
As evidence of the alleged attempt to “destabilize” Cuba, he pointed to the posters and protests against the regime he led during the baseball game between the national team and the United States, which corresponds to the semifinals of the V World Classic of that sport.
According to Díaz-Canel, “It was a shameful spectacle that was only possible through the active instigation and complicity of the City of Miami’s political authorities,” although it was Cuban exiles who stormed the ballfield with banners were arrested and later released on bail.
“At the same time, as an insult to the truth and as an insult to my country, which is one of the biggest victims of terrorism in the western hemisphere, the unjustified inclusion of Cuba in the fake list of countries allegedly supporting terrorism was unilaterally issued , continues. by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, although his government has refused to extradite the leaders of the armed group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) from Colombia, despite allegations of terrorist attacks that have killed people in that country.
“In the face of Empire’s attempts to re-colonize us and impose on us a unique culture and models, the region unites under the leadership of CELAC and honors the commitment to proclaim Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace,” said Díaz-Canel, who also reiterated his “firm solidarity with the legitimate governments of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia, which face constant attempts at destabilization”.
It also supported “Argentina’s legitimate claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands and surrounding marine areas” and reaffirmed “the historic commitment” of the government of Cuba “to the self-determination and independence of the people of Puerto”. Rico”.
The summit ended this Saturday with the large absences by the Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro, who finally canceled his participation due to Covid-19; the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and that of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The event ended without the region joining in international condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.