Havana, March 12 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez today recalled the signing by the United States government of the Helms-Burton Act 29 years ago, with the stated objective of overthrowing the Revolution.

In his profile on the social network X, the Cuban foreign minister stated that nothing similar exists in the world, and described this provision as a flagrant violation of the norms that govern international trade and the most basic rights of peoples.

The Helms-Burton Act, signed in 1996 by then-US President William Clinton, contemplates the internationalization of the blockade; the denial of credit and financial aid to countries and organizations that favor or promote cooperation with Cuba; and hindering foreign investment on the island.

Its enactment eliminated the unilateral possibility of lifting the siege on the island and established that it would remain in effect until there is what Washington calls a transitional government certified by the White House in Cuba.

Sections three and four of the Helms-Burton Act remained inactive until 2019, when President Donald Trump authorized their implementation, in order to prevent normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States.

According to experts, the Helms-Burton Act, along with the Torricelli Act (signed in 1992), constitutes a huge obstacle to bilateral relations and a violation of the principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention in the internal affairs of a State, as enshrined in international law.

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Guatemala City, March 12 (Prensa Latina) Guatemalan anthropologist Sandra Xinico expressed solidarity with the hostile policy of the United States government that is causing so much harm to Cuba today, and urged the people of the Antilles to maintain their strength.

This North American practice tends or intends to impose itself on free territories and will surely continue to seek to complicate the situation through an unjust economic blockade against the Caribbean island, the Kaqchikel Mayan researcher emphasized.

In statements to Prensa Latina, he acknowledged the historic struggle of Cubans and all their work to maintain themselves as an independent and sovereign nation, a reference for the various peoples pursuing their liberation, he emphasized.

He ruled out the possibility that all this violence on the part of the United States is solely the result of Donald Trump’s administration, but rather the continuation of imperialist policies of invasion and colonization to subjugate those unwilling to align themselves with their plundering objectives.

What’s happening with the current US president isn’t accidental; “it’s been part of a plan to maintain dependency, as in the case of Guatemala, to make countries like what we’re experiencing here,” the writer asserted.

This subordination to a model that has led to the destruction of our communities, genocide, that has plundered our lands, that has seized the nation’s greatest treasures, said the young woman, originally from the municipality of Patzún, department of Chimaltenango.

And that dynamic is what the United States seeks to impose on Cuba, at the forefront of liberation, which insists that its people have another way of life, he reflected.

Unfortunately, a lot of information reaches us here that is already mediated by the northern country and doesn’t always correspond to the reality that the people live in, the former community leader considered.

Here we receive news as if the United States were a country that wanted to liberate others, that fought for democracy; however, we know that’s not the case, he added.

What they are seeking is to intervene, to penetrate deep into our territories in order to control us and then continue to benefit, Xinico warned.

He also expressed concern about all the anti-immigrant measures and the use of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, to send people deported from the United States, which he described as a racist practice.

We know that the United States was built on a territory stolen from Native peoples; however, we live in a difficult situation regarding memory and our history, the anthropologist argued.

He denounced the policy of returning nationals to their countries through migration, a result of the structural problems we have in countries like Guatemala and the same evil caused by colonial practices.

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United Nations, March 11 (Prensa Latina) The Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter today condemned the unjustified re-inclusion of Cuba on the arbitrary list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism, drawn up by the United States.

“This unacceptable action confirms the discredit and opaque nature of this list and demonstrates the intention to intensify the criminal economic siege against Cuba to hinder its financial and commercial operations and cause greater hardship for the Cuban people,” the group said in a statement.

He stressed that Cuba’s unfair inclusion reinforces the negative impact of the criminal economic, commercial, and financial blockade on the realization of the Cuban people’s human rights.

“The Group recalls the repeated calls made to the United States government by several special procedures mandate holders, numerous States, international organizations, civil society, and other actors to remove Cuba from the list and lift the embargo,” it states.

Likewise, it strongly rejects the political manipulation of the fight against terrorism and reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Cuban people and government, and urges the United States government to immediately and unconditionally end the blockade.

Furthermore, to comply with the 32 resolutions adopted in this regard by the UN General Assembly and to exclude Cuba from the list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

Following this declaration, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez thanked the member countries of the Group of Friends of the UN Charter for their powerful statement delivered today before the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter is an initiative of a group of Member States whose main objective is to protect and promote the fundamental principles set forth in the UN Charter.

It is made up of Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Cuba, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, Palestine, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Uganda, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

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United Nations, Mar 10 (Prensa Latina) Cuba, on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, today denounced the humanitarian situation in Palestine, describing it as one of the most painful conflicts in modern history.

During the opening segment of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), the Second Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Zonya Rivero, mentioned the unprecedented levels of violence, death and destruction in the Gaza Strip over the past 17 months.

The Cuban female leader lamented the tragic toll of more than 48,000 civilians killed and 110,000 wounded as a result of the Israeli aggression against Gaza.

“This brutal Israeli military aggression in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the illegal colonial occupation of Palestinian lands continue to cause suffering and pain, while hindering the full enjoyment of human rights,” he warned.

The Second Secretary of the FMC also highlighted the disproportionate impact that the conflict has had on women and girls, who make up a large part of the fatal victims.

According to data from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rivero said, almost a third of the fatal victims are women.

She added that UN Women has raised the alarm about the health crisis facing women in the Gaza Strip, including pregnant women and new mothers.

The representative of Cuba reaffirmed the position of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter in its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its commitment to support women and girls who resist the occupation.

She also called on the international community to commit to fulfilling its obligations and not allow Palestinian women to suffer this unjust fate.

Rivero reiterated the Group’s deep concern over recent statements showing intentions to seize Gaza, forcibly displace the Palestinian people and promote Israeli annexation plans in the West Bank.

The Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter reaffirmed its commitment to support the Palestinian cause, achieve the independence of the State of Palestine and reach a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to this issue.

A two-state solution that would allow for the realization of the independence of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“The future of Palestinian women and girls, their comprehensive development and full respect for their sacred history and culture, as well as their central role in society, are an integral part of the foundations of the State of Palestine, vital to overcoming decades of relentless acts of violence, oppression and siege,” she argued.

“It is our common duty to honour the historic debt owed to Palestine and to fulfil its inalienable rights to self-determination and independence,” concluded Rivero López on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter.

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