Havana, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reaffirmed on Wednesday that it is a priority for his Government to know the current situation of two Cuban doctors who were kidnapped by the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab, in Kenya in 2019.

Based on unconfirmed information, Doctors Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodriguez Hernandez would have been killed in a bombing by the United States African Command (Africom) on positions of the violent organization in Dilib, Somalia.

We share the deep sorrow of their families and all the people, added the Cuban president on his X profile, where he also pointed out that Parliament President Esteban Lazo had traveled as a High Level Special Envoy to Kenya to clarify the situation of those medical collaborators.

On Tuesday, the Cuban Foreign Ministry announced Lazo’s trip to Kenya and affirmed that since the early hours after receiving the news, the Cuban Government has given absolute priority to the negotiations, which will continue until all the possibilities to confirm the situation of the doctors have been exhausted.

The circumstances and characteristics of the military operation that the Africom spokeswoman confirmed to have occurred are unknown, as well as whether this (operation) was justified, and whether it was carried out with the obligatory care to avoid collateral damage, to protect civilians and innocent people, and with due respect for international humanitarian law, the MINREX pointed out.

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Havana, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) Cuba seeks more efficiency in the use of agricultural inputs and financing in 2024 to increase national food production, considered among the main demands of the population, Granma newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Minister of Agriculture Ydael Perez Brito explained that the plan is to concentrate the available resources mainly in eight productive areas and 22 municipalities, as well as in all 22 largest companies in the sector, the daily added.

The minister noted that the Government is working on the design of a financial mechanism that will allow agriculture to use the foreign currency income generated by the sector’s exports for its own development.

This financing will be used to support resources and inputs from exporters and the main productions that have an impact on the country’s food balance, the official said at a meeting with the officials from the Government.

This way, the intention is to reduce gradually the country’s high dependence on foreign currency that the agricultural sector has today from the rest of the national economy.

This year we are called to change the economic situation of the country, and the agricultural system plays a fundamental role, since Cubans spend a large percentage of their salary only on food that they pay at high prices,’ Perez Brito remarked at the meeting with President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba reiterated his call to multiply the good examples and achieve adequate integration among all economic stakeholders that favor the strengthening of local agri-food systems. The municipalities have to build agri-food systems for self-sufficiency to cover some products of the basic food basket, and ‘not everything depends on imports,’ the president added.

For Cuba it represents a big challenge, since the regulated distribution is universal, hence Diaz-Canel praised the example of central Cienfuegos province, where they have already harvested beans to deliver to its inhabitants at a rate of 10 ounces per capita per month throughout the year.

The issue is not to produce to fulfill plans, but ‘to put on the table of every Cuban the amount of food necessary for a healthy diet,’ the head of State pointed out.

Financing for productive activity is limited; but sometimes it is not properly used and leaves room for inefficiency, he noted.

It is necessary to find our own solutions. If there is no foreign currency to obtain all the inputs, we must look for variants, said Diaz-Canel, who acknowledge the experience in producing agroecological potato, with national seeds and without technological packages, and it yielded 10 tons per hectare.

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The Hague, Netherlands, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodriguez expressed Cuba’s genuine interest and commitment to peace, when speaking in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Wednesday.

At the headquarters of the International Court of Justice, the deputy foreign minister noted Cuba’s historic and unconditional solidarity with the peoples subjected to colonialism and foreign domination, and condemned the massacre committed against the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying power.

She said that this is happening with the complicity of countries like the United States, which are ‘responsible before International Law for the genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the apartheid regime that determines where people can live, work and circulate depending on their ethnic and religious origins.’

In this regard, she underlined that the nations present at the hearing bear the high moral, historic and legal responsibility to make a clear, transparent and forceful denunciation of the Palestinian people’s ignominious situation.

As representative of the Cuban delegation, the deputy foreign minister noted the essential legal elements to determine the international responsibility of Israel and the other international stockholders, in addition to the legal implications and consequences of these illegal acts.

As explained above and, especially, taking into account the untenable situation of the Palestinian people, the Honorable International Court of Justice should pronounce itself in the clearest, most forceful and energetic legal terms, in defense of International Law,’ the diplomat added.

Therefore, the Cuban delegation requested the speedy issuance of a Consultative Opinion opposing so many years of impunity and ‘clearly establishing the international consequences and responsibilities of all those who in one way or another contribute to the extermination of the Palestinian people.’

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Havana, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) The High Level Special Envoy and president of the National People’s Power Assembly (Parliament) of Cuba, Esteban Lazo, is in Kenya taking urgent steps to clear-up the situation of two doctors kidnapped since 2019.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of the Caribbean island explains that Lazo will make urgent representations to the highest authorities of Kenya in search of cooperation and clearings in light of the recent news published about the possible unconfirmed death of doctors Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodriguez Hernandez.

Unofficial media recently published reports about the alleged death of the Cuban doctors during a U.S. military bombing of positions of the Somali-born terrorist group Al-Shabaab, which took them prisoner on April 12, 2019.

The MINREX statement affirms that since the first hours after receiving the news, the Cuban government has given absolute priority to the efforts that, through various media and different international actors, have been carried out in order to obtain the most objective information on the facts.

That action will be maintained until all possibilities are exhausted to confirm the situation of the Cuban doctors, the note reaffirms.

The Ministry details that, in that context, since Sunday, February 18 and in addition to the negotiations and communication with the Kenyan government, official contacts were initiated with Somalia in search of precision on the military operations reported through unofficial channels.

These media cite the United States African Command (AFRICOM), which reports that the event took place on the night of February 15 during the aforementioned bombing with U.S. drones in the town of Dilib, in Somalia, according to the MINREX.

Cuba, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contacted the U.S. government through diplomatic channels on Sunday, February 18, seeking clarification and is still awaiting a response, the Foreign Ministry statement says.

The note points out that so far there is no public statement from the U.S. government or its armed forces, confirming or denying the news involving our health collaborators.

Likewise, the circumstances and characteristics of the military operation that the AFRICOM spokeswoman confirms to have occurred are unknown, as well as whether this (operation) was justified, and whether it was carried out with the mandatory care to avoid collateral damage, to protect civilians and innocent people, and with due respect for international humanitarian law, the MINREX warns.

Such actions are an issue about which international organizations have expressed serious concerns in the past, the note concludes.

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Havana, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) Cuba’s communication professionals will celebrate Press Day from March 5 to 20, in the context of the 132nd anniversary of Periódico Patria, founded by National Hero José Martí.

Inspired by the idea of the considered Apostle of the Cuban independence that “He who tells the truth serves the homeland better”, this time it will be dedicated to the 170th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding patriot Juan Gualberto Gómez and the 95th anniversary of the revolutionary journalist Ernesto Vera Méndez. As a prelude, on February 23, there will be the proclamation of the winners of the national awards José Martí, for Life’s Work, and Juan Gualberto Gómez, for the work of the year.

The press day will begin with the laying of a wreath at the tomb of patriot and journalist Juan Gualberto Gómez, in the capital’s Colón cemetery, on the 91st anniversary of his death, and from March 18 to 20, it will close with the third Patria International Colloquium, the Cubaperiodistas website reported.

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It also accused the U.S. of complicity in Israel’s genocide at the International Court of Justice.

Feb 21 (teleSUR) On Wednesday, during public hearings on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, Cuba urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to pronounce itself in “clear, strong, and forceful legal terms.”

“The advisory opinion should establish the legal consequences for Israel, other states, and the United Nations due to violations of norms regarding the use of force, self-determination of peoples, and human rights,” stated Cuban Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Anayansi Rodriguez.

Recalling international law principles, she also emphasized that the United States is complicit in the genocide that Israeli occupying forces are committing against Palestinians, whom the Zionist State seeks to keep within an apartheid regime.

“All this with the complicity of the United States, which prevents the international community from acting to protect the Palestinians. The justifications for fighting terrorists and exercising the right to self-defense are deceitful when they are raised by the aggressors themselves.”

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Cuba will participate in the advisory opinion of the hearing of the International Court of Justice from 19 to 26 February 2024 in The Hague as part of the process requested by the United Nations General Assembly entitled “Israeli… Show more

Rodriguez demanded that ICJ addresses the status of Jerusalem in light of Israel’s ongoing violations and mentions “the regrettable inaction of the United Nations,” which is a direct consequence of the “abusive and irresponsible” exercise of the veto privilege that Washington has within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“Once the commission of genocide or crimes against humanity has been declared, there should be clear legal implications for all states that act in a manner that ignores or undermines the decision or opinion of the Court,” Rodriguez said, stressing that the ICJ must “provide the peace and justice that the Palestinian people deserve.”

She concluded by emphasizing that those responsible for the excessive use of force against innocent civilians in Gaza will not be able to evade justice forever.