United Nations, Dec 17 (Prensa Latina) Cuba reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to defending peace and condemned the threats from the United States government against Venezuela, including the extraordinary military deployment in the Caribbean under the false pretext of the fight against drugs.
During the recent Security Council open debate on “Maintaining international peace and security: leadership for peace,” the Chargé d’Affaires ai of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations, Ambassador Yuri Gala, denounced the persistent interference with Venezuelan airspace.
The Cuban diplomat also deplored the psychological warfare and discrediting campaigns against that country, as well as other actions that also constitute flagrant violations of the UN Charter and International Law, such as unilateral coercive measures and economic strangulation.
Expressing solidarity with the people and government of Venezuela on behalf of his country, Gala denounced that, on December 10, US military forces attacked an oil tanker in international waters.
Such an act “represents an act of piracy and maritime terrorism that constitutes a serious violation of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation,” the ambassador emphasized. He warned that these actions are part of the United States’ escalating efforts to impede Venezuela’s legitimate right to freely use and trade its natural resources with other nations, including hydrocarbon supplies to Cuba.
He added that these actions have a negative impact on Cuba and intensify the United States’ policy of maximum pressure and economic strangulation, with a direct impact on the national energy system and, consequently, on the daily lives of our people.
“This blatant act of applying the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine violates the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and demands universal condemnation,” Gala emphasized.
He opined that speaking today “of leadership for peace inevitably forces one to think about Palestine and condemned Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, with the complicity and impunity granted by the United States government.”
He also stressed that the new US National Security Strategy validates the dangerous doctrine of “peace through strength,” reflecting the enormous challenges facing humanity, and in particular, the Latin American and Caribbean region.
The ambassador noted that “there can be no talk of leadership for peace while unilateral coercive measures continue to be applied against sovereign states as weapons of political pressure, as is the case with the intensified economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against our country.”
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