Havana, Dec 21 (Prensa Latina) On two occasions on Friday President Miguel Diaz-Canel stressed that Cuba is open to establish respectful relations with the US, saying that Cubans have no animosity against the American people.

Diaz-Canel conveyed Havana’s stance both in his closing speech at the year’s last session of Parliament and at a rally in front of the US Embassy before a massive march that passed by the diplomatic headquarters in demand of the end of the economic blockade and the removal of Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

It has been the island’s position since the historical leader of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro’s time, but successive US administrations have denied such possibility except Barack Obama’s that pushed forward a rapprochement in bilateral relations that proved beneficial for both countries.

However, after two years in the White House then president Donald Trump did away with all steps Washington and Havana took to dissipate tensions and look for ways to improve their relations.

Diaz-Canel said that Cuba is willing to talk and foster relations of respect and equality with the United States, but will not allow any attempt at interference in its internal affairs.

That stance is well known and should not surprise anyone, he pointed out on the closing day of the 4th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly, which debated key issues and mapped out plans to encourage economic growth.

“We will remain open to relations with the people of the United States, (…) trying to avoid the harsh prohibitions that the Government of that country imposes on its own people in order to prevent their natural ties with a worthy and friendly neighbor in the absurd attempt to keep them from knowing the true Cuba,” he stressed.

Later at the rally, he emphasized that Cubans feel no hatred towards the American people.

On Cuba’s international relations, the Head of State pointed out that despite efforts by Washington to isolate it, Cuba was admitted as an associate member of the BRICS, “a novel instance of agreement and cooperation that brings together a significant economic, productive, technological, population, territorial and great natural wealth potential,” he added.

The president added that Cuba maintains very good relations and shares similar purposes with all the member countries of the group.

He recalled that Cuba also participated in the celebrations that took place in Moscow on the 79th anniversary of the defeat of fascism in Europe, “a contest in which the Russian people played a decisive role, with whose government we have continued to strengthen bilateral relations,” he went on to say.

Regarding Cuba’s international ties in 2024, Díaz-Canel noted that the Caribbean island has received support and strengthened fraternal relations with China, Vietnam and Laos, defined the potential to increase the economic-commercial relationship with the Eurasian Union and achieved important advances in its ties with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

He highlighted the nearly unanimous rejection by the international community of the economic blockade imposed by the United States, which was evident at the United Nations General Assembly, a scenario in which the demand of numerous governments in favor of removing Cuba from State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list was also made evident.

In our America, he added, “we continue to bet on the indispensable integration and are committed first of all to the Bolivarian Alliance ALBA-TCP, (…) further strengthening the historic relations of friendship, solidarity and cooperation that unite us in the common fight against the aggression of the empire.”

The dignitary expressed his support for Nicaragua and the work of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC, in Spanish), whose members signed in Havana the declaration of the region as a zone of peace.

Cuba’s foreign policy, he stressed, continues to rest on positions of principle, on the anti-imperialist struggle, on the defense of peace, on the promotion of solidarity and internationalism, on the search for relations of friendship and cooperation with all countries.

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Havana, 21 December (Prensa Latina) President Miguel Díaz-Canel thanked the more than 500,000 Cubans who marched along Havana’s waterfront avenue to demand an end to the US aggression against Cuba.

In his X account, the President thanked “for once again overcoming the most fertile imagination. For this great #MarchaDelPueblo (People’s March) with the Army General (Raúl Castro). For the unanimous cry: we are not terrorists, take us off the list and #TumbaElBloqueo (Knock down the Blockade,” he wrote.

Thank you for the infinite inspiration, the Head of State reiterated, a few hours before the end of the rally and parade along this important artery of the capital, where the US Embassy is located.

Less than a month before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Cuba continues to demand an end to the United States’ policy of maximum pressure.

The mobilisation of Cubans, led by Raúl Castro, José Ramón Machado Ventura (commander of the rebel army), the president himself, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and his cabinet, demanded first and foremost the lifting of the blockade imposed by Washington for more than six decades.

They also called for the country to be removed from the State Department’s list of countries accused of supporting terrorism.

Díaz-Canel opened the march with words of denunciation against the outgoing administration of Joe Biden, who, he said, had not reversed the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump (2017-2021), as he had promised during his presidential campaign.

He pointed out that with the implementation of 243 additional measures and the maintenance of Cuba in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, Biden was disciplining and cruelly following the policy that Trump had approved during his term in office.

He stressed that to single out Cuba as a state that allegedly sponsors terrorism is false and immoral, to say the least, wherever the accusation comes from, but it is doubly so when it comes from the territory of the United States.

From there, he denounced, paramilitary groups are currently being trained to organise, promote and finance terrorist actions against Cuba’s social and economic structures.

The continued inclusion of Cuba in this list and the tightening of the blockade policy are actions against the Cuban people that must stop now, he stressed.

He affirmed that Cuba does not profess the slightest feeling of hatred nor animosity towards the American people, but it opposes the efforts of the US Government to deprive it of its sovereignty, independence and socialism, in the face of which it will always find rebellion and intransigence.

Diaz-Canel recalled that Cuba has extended its hand to all the governments of the United States since the triumph of the Revolution until today, always in a serious, respectful and equal relationship.

Against the plan of US imperialism and its claim to impose itself in Cuba by force or seduction, we will march now and always, the President asserted.

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San Salvador, Dec 19 (Prensa Latina) The second National Assembly of the National Resistance and Rebellion Bloc (BRP) in El Salvador approved a Resolution of solidarity with the people of Cuba, a statement said today.

“The BRP expressed its firm support for the heroic people of Cuba, who have been able to confront and defeat the blockade and other forms of aggression by US imperialism for more than 60 years,” the document said.

He also expressed his rejection of the criminal and illegal blockade of the United States, which has cost the island more than a billion dollars and caused much social and economic damage.

The BRP also expressed its conviction that the Cuban people will remain firm in their struggle for socialist construction and the defense of their sovereignty.

In Cuba, the statement concluded, the imperialists and other enemies of the revolution will not pass.

At the meeting he also expressed his solidarity with the cause of Palestine and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela.

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Moscow, Dec 18 (Prensa Latina) Russia strongly condemns the decision of the United States to keep Cuba on the list of sponsors of terrorism, said today the spokeswoman for the Slavic country’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

All measures taken to put pressure on Havana are completely illegal and blatantly violate the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, which is why we strongly condemn this inhuman and illegitimate practice, Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday.

The spokeswoman also stressed that Russia advocates the complete and immediate lifting of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, as well as the removal of Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

It is absolutely clear that Washington, with the sole purpose of achieving a change of power in Cuba, is ready to use any method, treacherously interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, he added.

Zakharova also expressed confidence that Cuba will continue to progressively develop its foreign economic relations despite any obstacles.

On December 12, the US State Department decided to keep Cuba on its list of nations that sponsor terrorism, which also includes the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, Iran and Syria.

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Havana, Dec 17 (Prensa Latina) Cuba is willing to sit down with the United States in search of a serious relationship based on respect for sovereignty, self-determination and non-interference in internal affairs, official sources said today.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío told reporters that the island’s disposition had been in effect since before diplomatic relations were reestablished in 2014.

Previously, the Vice-Chancellor said that, in the face of the new presidential term that is approaching, the behavior of the Caribbean nation will continue to be consistent, when participating in the 21st edition of the series of conversations Cuba in the foreign policy of the United States of America.

He stressed that Cuba will not be the one to take the initiative to suspend dialogue, cooperation and discreet exchanges that exist on some sensitive issues.

Over the past decade, bilateral relations have been characterized, according to Fernández de Cossío, by four realities: Cuba fulfilled all its commitments, seeking progress, while the United States failed to fulfill practically all of its own.

He also noted that this short period was beneficial to both nations and had received support and congratulations from the majority of the population and neighbouring governments.

However, the vice-chancellor pointed out that, in the last eight years and throughout much of the history of diplomatic relations, aggression has defined bilateral ties, and made clear the existence of an aggressor country and an attacked country in the difficult relationship between Cuba and the United States.

He recalled that despite the continuation of the policy of maximum economic pressure, there are certain political differences in the behavior of the current government of the North American nation, that of Joe Biden, compared to the previous one, of Donald Trump.

He noted that while there were some changes in various areas, the island’s presence on the State Department’s list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism remained.

Paradoxically, he added, “the United States has practiced terrorism, including state terrorism, against Cuba, as well as other parts of the world.”

Fernández de Cossío said that these are realities that cannot be ignored when “we try to approach the difficult coexistence between Cuba and the United States.”

He said there are areas that have demonstrated the usefulness of a civilized and respectful relationship, and that the Caribbean country, despite the hostility expressed, has been willing to guide and develop it.

At another point in his speech, the vice minister referred to the issue of Cuban medical cooperation and how the northern nation is trying to classify this activity as “human trafficking” when it is by no means such.

He stressed that despite the US government’s objective of mercilessly harming the Caribbean nation, “what it will not be able to do is achieve the goal of bending the will of the Cubans, because it does not have the capacity to convince Cuba that abandoning and renouncing self-determination are viable options.”

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Dec 17 (Belly of the Beast) Ten years after Obama’s historic opening with Cuba, we ask Cubans what they think about Obama, Trump and Biden.

We hit the streets in Havana to hear directly from Cubans about the impact of Obama’s opening on their lives. From cruise ships to fashion shows, they describe the day-to-day impact of re-engagement, how things have changed under Trump and Biden, and their view on Trump’s impending second term.

Havana, Dec 17 (Prensa Latina) President Miguel Díaz-Canel today reiterated his call for a people’s march to end the United States blockade of Cuba and its exclusion from the U.S. list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

A message released on X by the president asserts that on December 20, “together with the heroic Cuban people, we will go out in combat march to demand the end of the blockade and the permanence of #Cuba on the illegitimate list of countries supposedly sponsoring terrorism.”

He also recalled that on that day, “as we have so often accompanied Fidel (Castro, leader of the revolutionary process on the island), we will see each other in the streets,” the head of state invited.

The Cuban president announced the parade, scheduled in front of the embassy of the northern country in Havana, while speaking at the closing session of the 9th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party, held Thursday and Friday in this capital.

In this context, Díaz-Canel called on Cubans to gather and march in front of the diplomatic legation in order to demonstrate the socialist direction of the island’s revolutionary process, which is suffering coercive measures from the Biden administration, and is alert to the rhetoric of maximum pressure from the next occupant of the Oval Office.

Washington continues to reinforce its harassment measures against Cuba, “but it will be impossible for us to surrender and kneel,” said the first secretary of the Communist Party, at the close of the party meeting.

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