Washington, August 12 (Prensa Latina) Veterans for Peace, a national organization with 150 chapters in the United States, expressed its support for Cuba during its national convention, held in Kansas City, Missouri.
According to a press release, the meeting included several panels, one of which focused on Latin America. Gerry Condon, former president of Veterans for Peace and current board member, participated in this panel and spoke about the numerous solidarity delegations organized to visit Nicaragua. Daniel Kovalik, author of *The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela*, analyzed the history of U.S. sanctions, regime change attempts, and coups d’état orchestrated by the U.S. government against the late Bolivarian leader Hugo Chávez, as well as the recent kidnapping of its constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro, on January 3.
For his part, Mark Friedman, an activist with the Hands Off Cuba committee, referred to the increased hostility of the Donald Trump administration toward Cuba and the threats of military aggression against the island.
Friedman called for active solidarity, including Global Health Partners’ campaign to provide medicines for the besieged Caribbean nation, and also condemned Washington’s attempts to criminalize those involved in the noble work of solidarity.
In a statement, Veterans For Peace condemned the recent report by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he accuses Cuba of interfering in the internal affairs of the United States.
The United States has waged an economic war against Cuba for more than six decades with a blockade that prevents normal relations with the North American nation and other countries of the world, hinders the development of the island and denies its economic development, as well as access to medicines and other essential products, the text stressed.
The statement also rejected “the Trump administration’s sudden return to ‘anti-communism’ as a means to undermine the credibility of its political opponents (…) If this is an attempt to intimidate those who are organizing for a just and peaceful world, it will not work,” it concluded.
Veterans For Peace reiterated at the event its “solidarity with Cuba and with all those who fight for human rights and democracy in the United States.”
One of the highlights of the convention was the participation of a large Vietnamese delegation, headed by Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, president of the Vietnam Association for Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims, the press release added.
Dr. Son later explained in an interview that Cuba and Vietnam share a long history of solidarity. “We are very proud of that history. Cuba has always stood by Vietnam in its time of need. We are ready to support Cuba,” he added, noting that his country votes every year at the UN against the US embargo on the Caribbean nation.
The meeting, which also expressed support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and against Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, was attended by around 200 people, mainly combat veterans and nursing staff from the Vietnam War.
The activist group continues to fight for adequate funding for Veterans Administration hospitals and medical coverage to treat the effects of Agent Orange on thousands of American soldiers.
At the same time, they are campaigning for the United States government to fund medical treatment for the two million Vietnamese who still suffer the consequences of that highly toxic chemical herbicide and defoliant—associated with serious effects on human health and the environment—used by the Pentagon during the Vietnam War.
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