The Cuban Handshake

Havana, March 2 (RHC) — Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío spoke with a representation of compatriots residing in the United States Saturday evening in Washington, DC.

At the meeting, held at the Cuban Embassy in the U.S. capital, Fernández de Cossío explained the current and foreseeable characteristics of how bilateral ties could behave and the eventual impact on the island.

He said that the purpose is to increase what in Donald Trump’s first term (2017-2021) was called the policy of maximum pressure and that some, for a long time, have aspired to see the end of the Cuban Revolution, “because of the way this government speaks, they believe that that moment is near,” he emphasized to the audience.

“Some beilieve that intoxication it is really possible,” warned the deputy foreign minister, who did not rule out that in the “next days, months…” there will be more measures throughout this administration since there is the effort to do so.

Artists, lawyers, businessmen, religious people, among others, were the attendees, all united by the desire that the blockade and hostile policies imposed by Washington be eliminated and that a rapprochement be produced that would be favorable for both peoples.

Fernández de Cossío reiterated that the United States Government knows that there is a will on the part of Cuba to build a respectful relationship.

On Friday, at the headquarters of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), with the coordination of the Latin American Working Group (LAWG) and Friends of Latin America, the Cuban deputy minister of foreign affairs recalled that on his first day in office, President Trump reinstated Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, reversing an executive order issued on January 14th by then-President Joseph Biden.

He noted that “Trump’s revocation is in line with his administration’s hardline stance on Cuba and has the support of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long advocated for sanctions against the island nation.”

“This way of enforcing the economic blockade, its reinforcement and the new aggressive measures will continue to have severely harmful effects on the Cuban economy, the standard of living, the development potential and the legitimate dreams of justice and well-being of the Cuban people, as has been the case in recent years,” stated Carlos Fernández de Cossío.

The event — in person and virtually  — was moderated by James Early, one of the members of the IPS Board of Directors.

(Source: Prensa Latina)

Paris, Mar 2 (Prensa Latina) The Cuba Linda association today highlighted the organization in France of five travel groups to the island that will combine tourist activities with the rapprochement to the island and its challenges in the face of US hostility.

Speaking to Prensa Latina, the president of the association created in 1998, Didier Lalande, said that more than 70 French are part of the groups, with the first of them arriving in Cuba at the end of next week.

In addition to getting to know the natural beauty of the island and its people, these visits will make it possible to see the reality of a people that is resisting in the midst of many hardships an economic, commercial and financial blockade of more than 60 years, he said.

According to Lalande, on the trips the participants will carry donations in their luggage, particularly medicines.

He also said that Cuba Linda will follow up and support projects such as Soñarte, a community initiative in Havana, and Korimakao, which promotes culture in Ciénaga de Zapata, Matanzas.

Regarding the traditional French presence in the celebrations of May 1st, International Workers’ Day, in Cuba, he stressed that two of the organized groups will participate.

In April, Lalande will receive the Friendship Medal awarded by the Cuban government to people with a solidarity history and accompaniment to the Caribbean nation.

This recognition was given in November in Paris, on the eve of the XIX European Continental Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, to several Frenchmen for their support and commitment in actions such as the struggle against the U.S. blockade, at a time when the president of Cuba Linda was in Havana.

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San Salvador, Mar 2 (Prensa Latina) Salvadorans today expressed their solidarity with Cuba and their rejection of the United States’ ongoing aggression against the island.

Members of social organizations and residents demonstrated this Sunday during the “World Marathon of Love for Cuba” in key areas of the historic center of this capital, while chanting slogans in support of the Cuban people’s struggle against U.S. actions.

We welcome the global marathon that will take place this Sunday in all cardinal points to remove the island from the list of states that promote terrorism and to stop all coercive measures against the Cuban people, said Raúl Martínez, of the solidarity movement.

Cuba is not alone and here in El Salvador we are supporting the world marathon for the love of Cuba, said Claudio San Marco, of the Salvadoran Solidarity Movement with the Caribbean nation.

During the activity, a statement was read on behalf of all participating groups, which expressed their rejection of the policies of the current Donald Trump administration.

“We condemn the genocidal blockade, a real measure that directly suffocates the Cuban people, inside and outside Cuba, affecting all areas of the island’s society. We also repudiate the defamatory campaigns that seek to diminish the value of this flagrant measure and reaffirm the worldwide call to stop it,” the text stated.

He stressed the message that the Caribbean country implements in its foreign policy in a transparent and open manner regarding humanitarian assistance in all fields of technological, technical and scientific cooperation, but never promotes actions contrary to the Charter of the United Nations. He denounced the policies implemented by the current US Secretary of State, Marcos Rubio, against Cuban medical cooperation, which assists third countries and harms not only the humanitarian health system of the largest of the Antilles, but also the countries that receive its aid.

We denounce the cruelty of actions such as the National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 (NSPM-5), a measure that seeks to further harm Cuban trade and tourism businesses, as well as the blockade and obstruction of flights between Cuba and the United States, the document said.

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Havana, Mar 2 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero today called on tourism workers to deploy innovative initiatives to improve the sector and generate more income, ACN reported.

In a conversation with representatives of that group, the head of government explained the current context that the Caribbean island is experiencing, described by its authorities as one of creative resistance in a war economy imposed by successive United States administrations.

The member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party and Secretary General of the Cuban Workers’ Union, Ulises Guilarte, and the head of the branch, Juan Carlos García, accompanied the prime minister, the Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported.

On the eve of the celebration of Tourism Workers’ Day on March 4 in this Caribbean nation, the minister urged those attending the meeting to share experiences and contribute ideas that strengthen the so-called “locomotive of the Cuban economy.”

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Mexico City, Mar 1 (Prensa Latina) Officials from the Cuban Embassy in Mexico gave lectures at the University of Guanajuato on medical cooperation and the economic blockade imposed by the United States, it was announced here today.

A note from the diplomatic headquarters states that counselor José Ángel Maury and second secretary Luis López highlighted to academics and students the damage caused by this blockade, which was described as genocidal, and the intensification of its measures by recent administrations in the northern country.

They also discussed the implications of Cuba’s inclusion “in the spurious list of state sponsors of terrorism and the immense solidarity that our people have in continuing to confront the attacks.”

The diplomats expressed their gratitude for the deep interest shown and the efforts of university students and teachers from this institution to learn about the Cuban reality, the options for achieving economic development and the incorporation into the BRICS bloc (led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

The text also refers to the work of Cuban health personnel in 24 states of Mexico.

Likewise, the support of federal deputy Magda Rosales, student groups from the higher education center and members of the Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba in León, state of Guanajuato, was highlighted to further strengthen relations between the two countries.

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Feb 27 (Belly of the Beast) While Trump and Rubio make peace with Russia, they have kept a hardline position against Cuba. Just days after his appointment as secretary of state, Rubio announced that the Trump administration was “restoring a tough U.S.-Cuba policy.”

Meanwhile, Rubio’s right-hand man, Mauricio Claver-Carone, told Politico that regime change in Cuba is “imminent” and that the U.S. can be “very creative” in bringing it about.

Check out our latest video in which Cubans in Cuba explain how Rubio, who has never stepped foot on the island and whose parents left years before the Cuban revolution, is “screwing over his own people.”