Latin America and the Caribbean reaffirm their commitment to regional integration

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Tegucigalpa, April 9 (Prensa Latina) The IX Presidential Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) committed here today to strengthening the bloc as a mechanism for political coordination that integrates all countries in the region.

In light of the region’s current challenges, the heads of state and senior representatives of CELAC agreed by consensus on the Tegucigalpa Declaration, the main document emerging from these forums.

The 11 leaders present in Honduras, including host President Xiomara Castro, highlighted the full validity of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, 11 years after its signing, during the Second Summit held in Havana, Cuba.

A zone of peace based on the promotion and respect for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, international cooperation, democracy and the rule of law, and multilateralism.

The document also emphasizes the protection and promotion of all human rights, respect for self-determination, non-interference in internal affairs, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

Likewise, representatives from 30 of the 33 CELAC member countries rejected the imposition of unilateral coercive measures contrary to international law, including those restricting international trade.

They affirmed their shared conviction that it is timely and appropriate for a national of a Latin American and Caribbean State to serve as Secretary-General of the UN.

They noted that of the nine UN secretaries-general to date, only one came from a Latin American nation, and that the position has never been held by a woman, they emphasized.

The high-level meeting underscored the importance of coordinating joint CELAC interventions in multilateral forums on issues of common interest.

The members of the intergovernmental organization recognized Honduras for the work it has done in its capacity as Pro Tempore Presidency (PPT) since 2024.

They highlighted, under the leadership of this Central American state, the holding of high-level meetings to share efforts and experiences in the areas of food security, women, education, coffee, energy, financial cooperation, climate change, and human mobility.

They also reaffirmed their willingness to continue political dialogue to deepen CELAC’s cooperative ties with other countries and regional groups.

In this regard, they praised the progress made during the meetings convened by the Honduran PPT, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

They welcomed Colombia as a CELAC PPT (2025-2026) and endorsed its identified priorities for the mechanism’s work regarding energy (energy transition and interconnection); human mobility; health and health self-sufficiency; food security; the environment; and climate change.

Colombia’s pro tempore presidency will also focus on the situation of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples; science, technology, and innovation; connectivity and infrastructure; strengthening trade and investment; transnational organized crime; education; and gender equality, among other issues.

The leaders expressed their firm support for Haiti’s stability and their commitment, based on each country’s capabilities, to supporting its efforts, together with the international community, to reestablish an environment of human security for the normalization of the political, economic, and social situation, with a comprehensive approach to development.

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Cuba dignifies the Latin American vision of the Honduran government

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Tegucigalpa, April 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today honored in this capital the firm stance of the government of Honduran President Xiomara Castro in favor of the unity and integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Díaz-Canel, who is in Tegucigalpa to participate in the 9th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), praised the socioeconomic and political transformations implemented by Castro’s progressive administration in just three years of administration.

The dignitary made these remarks during a fraternal meeting with members of the Honduran solidarity movement with Cuba, members of the island’s medical and educational brigades, and staff from Havana’s diplomatic mission in the Central American nation.

Referring to Honduras’s first female president, the president praised her determination to work for the well-being of her fellow citizens by implementing numerous initiatives to end decades of poverty and inequality.

Xiomara Castro’s administration is focused on its people, and that, he asserted, is one of the main reasons for the presence of our health and education professionals in this country, contributing our modest experience in these fields, he emphasized.

Despite the United States government’s furious attacks on Honduras’ medical and educational collaboration with more than 50 other nations, Díaz-Canel emphasized the courage of Honduras and other nations in the region to maintain these specialists.

Improving the health indicators of the Honduran people and teaching literacy, as we have done in more than 52 countries, is the sole purpose of this selfless cooperation, the president emphasized.

“What can we say about the solidarity of the people of this country with Cuba, which responds to historical reasons,” ties that are impossible to break, he asserted.

During her speech, she acknowledged the defense of the Cuban people’s causes by the solidarity movement and the Castro administration, whom she described as a sister, a friend of the Caribbean nation, and a “true lineage of Latin American women” in the struggles of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“You have a woman with qualities we greatly appreciate, one of the Latin American leaders who decided not to attend a summit because of Cuba’s exclusion,” the president emphasized, also thanking Castro for denouncing the U.S. blockade against the island in all international forums.

Díaz-Canel stated that his presence in Honduras—for just a few hours and the first visit by a Cuban president—was necessary due to Cuba’s commitment to “our sister President Xiomara Castro” and to CELAC, to which we bring a message of peace, he specified.

“Rest assured that the Cuban Revolution will emerge victorious from these imperialist attacks, and that the people of Honduras can always count on our unconditional support,” concluded the head of state, who will participate tomorrow in the summit of the largest regional coordination mechanism.

During the emotional meeting, attended by several Honduran ministers, Díaz-Canel was accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and Havana’s ambassador to Tegucigalpa, Juan Loforte.

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For the people of Cuba, we must die, declared Díaz-Canel

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, April 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the people of the Caribbean nation heroic and expressed his willingness to die to defend all their rights, according to reports today.

“It’s a conviction that is reinforced in every encounter we have with this people. We must die for this heroic people. Because every day they are giving lessons in exemplary conduct and heroism,” the head of state declared.

During an interview with Spanish journalists Pascual Serrano, Javier Couso, José Manzaneda, and Carlos González Penalva, Díaz-Canel emphasized that, despite the country’s current difficult circumstances, its people are making great efforts to overcome them.

“Instead of seeing discouragement, instead of seeing frustration, he’s always on the move, always looking for ways to move forward, always looking for ways to fight and how to succeed,” he said during the exchange, broadcast Tuesday in a joint broadcast of the local television program Mesa Redonda, Cubainformación in Spain, and Venezuela News.

The president acknowledged that “we have negative tendencies, which become more acute and manifest themselves in times of crisis,” and which, he said, are addressed by “discussing our problems honestly.”

He also emphasized that “the heroism of the people is greatly fueled by the solidarity they receive from their friends around the world.”

“We know what it costs to defend Cuba and how pressure is brought to bear, how attempts are made to prevent individuals, groups, countries, organizations, and parties from defending it. Therefore, we will not let that down,” he asserted.

“Rest assured: the generation or generations that are today assuming the continuity of the revolutionary process are assuming the responsibilities of the government, of the party,” he commented.

They are, he emphasized, “generations loyal to the thinking of Fidel, to the thinking of Raúl, to the Centennial Generation. We learned from them. We share their convictions, and we will defend the Cuban Revolution to the bitter end.”

Responding to a question from Manzaneda, the president stated that “what most hinders our dreams, the achievements of the Cuban people, and I say this responsibly, is the blockade (economic, financial, and commercial by the United States government).”

But, he concluded, we also have to improve and perfect our work.

“The Cuban people resist by their own will, by their own conviction, by their own ability; but also because they know what the Cuban Revolution means to the world,” he noted.

For us, he noted, it is a great responsibility to see how so many people around the world, even in the most distant latitudes, have made it their lives to support the Cuban Revolution.

We cannot betray that, he reiterated, and clarified that “we do not want to be seen as a perfect society, but we do aspire to build a better society, and we want to work with those who want a better world, which is not only possible, but must be possible.”

“What I can assure you, and I dare to say this responsibly on behalf of the majority of the Cuban people, is that no one here gives up. No one here gives up,” he asserted.

And, he declared, they can continue to tighten the blockade, they can continue to slander all the achievements on social media, but there is a lot of morality, there is a lot of history to defend, and there is a lot of courage among the Cuban people.

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Díaz-Canel arrived in Honduras to participate in the CELAC Summit

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Tegucigalpa, April 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived in Honduras to participate in the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), according to an official announcement released today.

According to a message published on X by the Cuban Presidency, the head of state arrived in the early afternoon of this Tuesday.

“President Díaz-Canel is already in Honduras to participate in the IX CELAC Summit,” the text states.

This is the Cuban leader’s first visit to that nation, the source stated.

Under the motto “United for the Great Homeland,” foreign ministers and senior diplomatic officials from the organization’s member countries will meet this April 8 at the Central Bank of Honduras to discuss economic and social solutions of regional interest.

The purpose of the meeting is to establish the thematic agenda with the strategic guidelines that the heads of state and government will address tomorrow, Wednesday, during the Summit.

At the end of the day, the delegations from the 33 member nations of the organization will receive a summary of Honduras’ work at the helm of the organization for the past year.

They will also analyze the Tegucigalpa Declaration, which contains the actions and agreements from the 2024-2025 meetings, with the goal of achieving consensus in Latin America and the Caribbean on important regional issues.

Press reports from the Honduran capital confirm that Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and the leader of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, Leslie Voltaire, are also in the country.

Likewise, the leaders of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, among others, will discuss the migration crisis, the impact of global tariffs, and the urgency of increasing regional integration, among other topics.

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Central Cuban province maintains maternal mortality at zero

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Santa Clara, Cuba, April 7 (Prensa Latina) The central Cuban province of Villa Clara has maintained its maternal mortality rate at zero for three consecutive years, a success remembered today in this territory as part of the World Health Day celebrations.

Dr. Yandry Alfonso, head of the Maternal and Child Program in the province, explained that the reasons for these results include the stability achieved in critical maternal care, as well as in the Perinatology Service and in the intensive care units of the gynecological-obstetric and pediatric hospitals.

Villa Clara stands out in Cuba for achieving 201 pregnancies in municipal clinics in the last year alone, as well as maintaining the occupancy rate in maternity homes above 70 percent and achieving 252 pregnancies thanks to assisted reproduction.

According to Ailuj Casanova, national director of Medical Care at the Ministry of Public Health, in 2024 Cuba reported a maternal mortality rate of 40.6 per 100,000 women, higher than the 38.7 recorded in 2023.

These figures indicate the success of the central Cuban territory of Villa Clara in these indicators, although challenges remain: strengthening the program for care for fertile women, reducing teenage pregnancy, and strengthening complex health intervention programs.

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Cuban Foreign Minister arrives in Honduras for the CELAC summit

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Tegucigalpa, April 7 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arrived in Honduras today to participate in the IX Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Rodríguez arrived at Palmerola International Airport, about 80 kilometers northwest of Tegucigalpa, and was welcomed at the airport by Honduran Deputy Foreign Ministers Cindy Rodríguez and Antonio García, along with the Cuban ambassador to that country, Juan Loforte.

In brief statements to state-run Channel 8, the head of Cuban diplomacy described the ties of friendship, cooperation, and solidarity that unite Cuba and Honduras as historic.

Rodríguez also highlighted the importance of the forum, which will bring together the 33 member nations of CELAC, considered the largest mechanism for political coordination in Latin America and the Caribbean. The dignitaries will meet next Wednesday in this capital.

This Monday, the regional organization’s national coordinators will discuss the documents that will emerge from the high-level meeting, with the attendance of a dozen Latin American and Caribbean leaders, in addition to the host president, Xiomara Castro.

Tomorrow will be the foreign ministers’ turn, tasked with finalizing the documents previously discussed by the coordinators for approval by the dignitaries, including the Tegucigalpa Declaration.

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Cuba highlights US protests against Donald Trump

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, April 6 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez highlighted the discontent of the United States population with the administration of President Donald Trump, local media reported today.

“Hands-Off protests in more than a thousand cities across all 50 states, with nearly half a million people participating, denounce the plutocracy that governs that country,” the foreign minister said.

According to a comment by Rodriguez on the social network X, Trump governs focused on satisfying the interests of “big capital and against the aspirations of the majority of American citizens.”

Thousands of people demonstrated yesterday in the U.S. capital, Washington, as part of some 1,200 demonstrations across the United States and other parts of the world, according to various news reports.

In what is considered the largest day of protests against President Donald Trump, demonstrators also criticized the work of presidential advisor Elon Musk.

The radical reforms and cuts implemented by the government were criticized with the same intensity as outside of North America.

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Anniversaries of the Cuban Youth Council (OPJM) and the Cuban Youth Council (UJC) celebrated in Italy 

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Rome, Apr 6 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban community in Italy and the embassy of the Caribbean country celebrated today in this capital the 64th anniversary of the José Martí Pioneer Organization (OPJM) and the 63rd anniversary of the Union of Young Communists (UJC) of that nation.

As part of the initiatives to celebrate the holiday, a children’s party was held at the Giulio Glorioso sports field in Rome’s San Paolo neighborhood, as well as a softball match between teams from Cuba and the Dominican Republic, comprised of nationals from both countries residing here and diplomatic officials.

The event was presided over by the island’s ambassador, Mirta Granda, who recalled that the Pioneers’ group was founded on April 4, 1961, while the UJC was created on the same date the following year. She emphasized that both play an important role in the formation of new generations committed to the revolutionary process.

For his part, Lázaro Martín, coordinator of the associations of Cubans residing in the center and south of this European nation, spoke about the importance of honoring the children and youth of the Caribbean country, who are part of a heroic people affected by the criminal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States.

Cuba needs “the greatest support and solidarity we can provide” amid difficult conditions, primarily as a result of U.S. government measures, including its unilateral and unfair inclusion on the list of countries that allegedly support terrorism, he emphasized.

Granda thanked the Cubans living in Italy for this initiative, which had the support of the diplomatic mission, and noted that it was one of the events within the framework of the 17th Meeting of Cubans Residing in Europe (ECRE), to be held in Rome from October 24 to 26 of this year.

This event will be a fundamental space for bringing together good-hearted compatriots who support and defend the Cuban Revolution from all over the world. They will be able to exchange ideas on topics of common interest, and new cultural and solidarity projects will be presented there.

At this meeting, various aspects of the relationship between the nation and emigration will be evaluated, including new immigration laws, and potential contributions to the country’s economic development will be discussed, among many other topics.

Also in October, on the sidelines of the 17th ECRE, the Italian capital will host the 4th edition of the Cuba Va Conmigo Festival, for Cuban nationals living abroad. A large presence of artists from all walks of life is expected.

The call for these events invites “Cubans of good will, promoters of peace, and especially those with a deep love for their homeland, because Homeland is humanity, as Martí said, and Cuba unites us from every corner of the world.”

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Foreign minister criticizes basic document of US blockade of Cuba

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, April 6 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez today described as infamous the text that laid the foundations for the United States economic blockade of the island, on the occasion of its 65th anniversary.

On April 6, 1960, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Lester D. Mallory, in a secret memorandum, defined the philosophy of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed shortly after against the Caribbean nation.

“After 65 years of the infamous memorandum, the United States government maintains the same policy against Cuba,” Rodríguez stated through the social network X.

The Foreign Minister denounced the fact that the U.S. government is “making our people suffer” and attacking “their sources of livelihood” with the implementation of this siege.

He also accused Washington of including Cuba on its unilateral State Sponsors of Terrorism List, waging a cognitive and communications war against the Caribbean country, and orchestrating a smear campaign against Cuban medical cooperation.

In the document he sent to Eisenhower, then president of the United States, Mallory suggested destroying Cuba’s economy as “the only foreseeable way to undermine domestic support” for the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro.

“We must quickly employ all possible means to weaken Cuba’s economic life,” he declared.

For more than six decades, Cuban authorities have denounced this hostility in various national and international forums.

They have also rejected the White House’s intention to excuse this policy and other sanctions from the shortcomings in this country and, therefore, blame the Cuban government’s actions for them.

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FAO climate project concludes in Cuba

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, April 4 (Prensa Latina) The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced today in Havana the conclusion of a capacity-building project to address climate change (CBIT AFOLU).

This training, which benefited the nation’s economy, ended after four years of implementation, according to this Friday’s note.

This initiative by the Ministry of Agriculture, with technical assistance from FAO and funding from the Global Environment Facility, was instrumental in better preparing the country’s agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector to respond to environmental challenges and the demands of the Paris Agreement.

Implemented since 2021, CBIT has strengthened national technical capacities to measure, assess, and report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals in the AFOLU sector.

As a result, the country has, for the first time, an Information System on Climate Change in Agriculture (SICCA), which functions as a platform where various stakeholders collaborate to systematize information on climate change, monitor the progress of climate goals, and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

This system will serve as a recording and reporting tool to systematize climate change mitigation and adaptation actions in agriculture. It will also be essential for reporting at the sectoral and national levels in the context of national plans, policies, and commitments on these issues.

From the SICCA platform, users can also access the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System for the AFOLU sector; the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification System for climate finance and mitigation actions; and a Monitoring and Evaluation System for adaptation actions.

At the end of the project, the agricultural, forestry, and other land use sectors also had an Agrarian Climate Action Plan, a strategic framework that integrates adaptation and mitigation measures into the development programs for the agricultural, livestock, and forestry sectors within the context of the State Plan for Addressing Climate Change in the Republic of Cuba.

This initiative is known as Task Life and fulfills expectations related to the future of agriculture in this nation.

As part of the project, FAO, with funding from the GEF, also provided equipment and technology for more precise measurement of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, strengthening national capacities for the development of GHG inventories.

With CBIT AFOLU, Cuba is able to produce more timely reports that allow for transparent monitoring of the implementation of its mitigation measures for submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and meet the requirements established in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, they emphasized.

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