Havana, Nov 13 (RHC) The Cuban Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Andrés González, and the governor of the Western province, Hanif Yusoof, have agreed today on the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in the fields of health and biotechnology.
During a cordial meeting, the Cuban diplomat congratulated Yusoof on his recent appointment as governor and provided an update on the progress of bilateral relations in the political and commercial spheres.
González expressed gratitude to Sri Lanka for its consistent support for the Cuban resolution against the blockade, which is annually approved by a majority at the United Nations headquarters.
Yusoof, in turn, emphasized Cuba’s friendship and cooperation with his country and the provision of scholarships to Sri Lankan students, despite the economic challenges faced by the Caribbean island.
The meeting was attended by Aritha Wickramasinghe, head of the Public Relations Office; Mohamed Cader, representative of the governor’s office;, and Maribel Duarte, first secretary of the Cuban embassy.
The Western Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, and it is the most densely populated province in the country. It is home to Colombo, the capital as well as the administrative and commercial hub of the South Asian nation. (Source: Prensa Latina)
Nov 12 (Belly of the Beast) For Cuba, the storms keep coming. As if hurricanes, earthquakes, multiple failures of the electrical grid, and the re-election of Trump weren’t enough, it seems Sen. Marco Rubio will be Trump’s Secretary of State.
Rubio was the architect of Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy toward Cuba and has claimed it as one of his greatest accomplishments. Now, Rubio would go from being the shadow Secretary of State for Latin America to the real thing.
There’s irony to the appointment.
In 2015, in addition to making fun of each other for parts of their anatomy, Rubio labeled Trump a “con artist” and Trump called Rubio a “total lightweight” whom he wouldn’t hire to run even a small company.
A deeper irony stems from the fact that Trump’s re-election campaign was built on xenophobic rhetoric around immigration. And yet, the war on Cuba that he and Rubio unleashed — and which Biden has done little to reverse — has driven unprecedented migration of Cubans to the United States.
Making Life Harder for Cubans
Trump’s policies and the COVID-19 pandemic created the perfect storm for an economic implosion in which Cuba’s GDP contracted by double-digits. From 2022 to 2023, an estimated 18% of Cuba’s population has fled as the economic and humanitarian situation worsens.
Rubio’s appointment suggests the Trump administration, despite anti-immigrant and isolationist rhetoric, will likely accelerate a maximum pressure policy that would continue to ravage Cuba’s economy while fueling migration to the United States.
“Rubio will not only block any efforts to help Cuba through the terrible economic and social crisis that the Cuban people are enduring, he will probably propose piling on new sanctions that will make their lives even harder,” says William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert and professor of government at American University. “But he and President Trump should beware that [anything that] makes life harder for Cubans will just convince more of them that it’s time to leave and come to the United States, with or without a visa.”
Rubio and Friends (from Florida) Hijack Cuba Policy
Rubio is also emblematic of the outsized power a handful of Florida lawmakers have over the island’s fate.
When Trump was first elected, an interagency review about U.S.-Cuba policy was held. Most officials involved were “unanimous in their support for the Cuba policies already on the books, including the Obama-era normalization efforts,” Mother Jones reported.
It did not take long for Cuban-American hardliners to hijack policy toward Cuba and the rest of Latin America.
Leading the way was Rubio, who would play a key role inserting Cuban-American hardliners into top positions in the Trump administration. John Barsa was named head of USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Mauricio Claver-Carone, a former pro-embargo lobbyist, went to the National Security Council, where he became the architect of some of Trump’s most damaging measures, including activation of Title III of the Helms Burton Act.
Rep. María Elvira Salazar and Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, also hardliners from the Sunshine State, praised Rubio’s appointment.
Salazar is the sponsor of the FORCE Act, which aims to make the removal of Cuba from the “state sponsors of terrorism” list — a designation made by Trump during the final days of his first term — impossible without regime change. Previously, it was assumed that, should the bill pass the House, it would fail in the Senate. Now, the Republicans have a Senate majority and are expected to maintain control of the House.
Never mind that the U.S. is isolated in claiming that Cuba sponsors terrorism (there is consensus among intelligence officials that Cuba does not sponsor terrorism), much like it is isolated in defending its policy towards Cuba writ large. Last month, the entire United Nations General Assembly, save the U.S. and Israel, voted for an end to U.S. sanctions on Cuba.
Florida Republicans Take Center Stage
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who is as hard-line on Cuba policy as his Cuban-American colleagues, is also vying to be the Senate’s next majority leader, with Trump allies Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk throwing their weight behind him. The vote takes place tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz, yet another Florida Republican, to serve as his national security advisor.
Despite Rubio’s extremist policy positions, his appointment — which LeoGrande calls “the culmination of Cuba’s annus horribilis” — seems inevitable.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, has wasted no time in expressing his support.
The far-right ideologues who dominate politics in Trump’s home state of Florida, it seems, will be running foreign policy when he returns to the White House next year.
Don’t Miss The War on Cuba
To learn more about how Marco Rubio came to “directly design” Cuba policy during Trump’s first presidency, and its devastating impact on the Cuban people, watch our award-winning documentary series The War on Cuba.
Phnom Penh, Nov 12 (Prensa Latina) King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia has thanked the Cuban people for the messages of congratulations sent on the 71st anniversary of the proclamation of the Kingdom’s independence from French colonial rule.
The monarch conveyed sincere words of gratitude through Cuban Ambassador to Cambodia, Milena Zaldivar, during the solemn ceremony that closed the celebrations of the transcendental anniversary on Monday.
During the meeting, the diplomat recalled the message of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel when he reflected on the traditional ties of friendship and solidarity on which bilateral relations have been forged.
Zaldivar also reaffirmed the Cuban government’s will to achieve new milestones in bilateral cooperation for the progress, peace, and prosperity of both nations, objectives that have as a special motivation the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, which will take place in 2025.
In his congratulatory message, highlighted here by national media, Diaz-Canel said “In such a special commemoration, I recall the traditional bonds of friendship and solidarity in which the bilateral relations have been forged, with the certainty that we will continue to reach new milestones for the progress and welfare of our nations.”
Cuba and the Kingdom of Cambodia established diplomatic relations on April 15, 1960, based on the legacy of feelings of mutual respect and admiration that existed between the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and the late Cambodian King-Father, Norodom Sihanouk.
New Delhi (Prensa Latina) At its 16th Summit in Kazan, what began as an economic grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) in Yekaterinburg, Russia 15 years ago, reached a significant turning point. Through the passage of these years, the BRICS grouping expanded to 10 core members and 13 partner countries, including one NATO member Turkey, now wanting to join this grouping.
By Sandeep Chachra*
With 30 more countries expressing interest in joining the group, the current conjecture holds great promise for the Global South and BRICS, arguably the most pivotal since the Bretton Woods Conference in 1945.
Representing nearly half of the world’s population and accounting for 35 percent of the global GDP—larger than that of the G7 combined—BRICS also contributes 40 percent of oil production and 42 percent of the world’s food production, while encompassing the majority of the global workforce. In its pursuit of equality and justice, the power of the group and the pathways it offers for economic, social, and political autonomy to its members and their populations are immense. The addition of 13 new partner members reflects the alliance’s growing influence, bringing in a diverse array of countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, including Algeria, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Cuba, all of which hold strategic importance in global trade, energy, and geopolitics. Indonesia, which has formally sought membership and sent its Foreign Minister, just days after the newly elected President, Probowo Subianto took office, holds the promise of bringing to this group the legacy of Bandung. And with at least four, if not five, continuous civilizations – India, China, Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia as its members, the grouping today embodies the power, hopes and dreams of the majorities of the global south, young and growing.
Never extinguished by the rampage of colonial subjugation, or subdued by continued neocolonial conquests, peoples of the global south carry in their hearts a spirit of liberation. And this with an endless spring of resistance against subjugation, expulsion and genocide, as Fidel Castro once said, “to settle their (our) own debt with humanity”.
For such people don’t see humanity’s future from the rotten paralytic present, where children, women and men are butchered and where mothers in Gaza feel guilt for bringing a child into this world of war and suffering. Be it the Genocide of Gaza, or the blockades and sanctions imposed on nations of the south the idea has been to erase defiant dreams and their dreamers. The wide appeal of BRICS symbolizes the collective rise of the Global South in a growing frustration with a Western-dominated hegemonic world order. Furthermore it also lies in the inclusive messaging of BRICS. The host of 16th BRICS Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that BRICS is a ‘non-West’ rather than ‘anti-West’ group.
In what appears promising, the Kazan Declaration clarifies BRICS consensus positioning on some of these challenges and its articulation for change.
A tool of western hegemony, several of the BRICS members and partners are amongst most sanctioned countries in the world. Russia with more than 20,000 sanctions, Iran with 5000, Belarus with 1500, Cuba with those continuing since its revolution. It is estimated that US Sanctions killed nearly half a million children in Iraq. Together with occupation, sanctions have a devastating impact. BRICS called for elimination of sanctions “unilateral coercive measures, inter-alia in the form of unilateral economic sanctions and secondary sanctions that are contrary to international law, have far-reaching implications for human rights, including the right to development, of the general population of targeted states, disproportionally affecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations”
At a time when there is increasing frustration over the United Nations’ inability to resolve ongoing conflicts in West Asia, Ukraine, and the Sahel region, social outrage at the state of the UN and international governance is both active and growing. With wars and conflicts persisting for decades, the collective decision of BRICS to commit to finding peaceful resolutions bodes well for world peace. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the BRICS call to defend peace and achieve common security around the world.
While the Kazan declaration falls short of calling out genocide in Gaza, it does acknowledge the various United National Security Council Resolutions as well as the “provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in the legal proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel” and backs the calls for Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the need for a two State solution.
To build a world without sanctions, wars, conquests and genocides is a task which awaits humanity and peoples expectation from BRICS.
The call and action BRICS has taken to reform the international financial architecture to make it “more inclusive and just” such that it better reflects the changes in the international economic balance of power is a step which offers to its members room for economic manoeuvrability and a degree of economic autonomy too.
While the BRICS have not yet agreed on de-dollarisation, and while a weaponised US Dollar still remains an important tool in global finance, the announcement of BRICS Pay system, is a welcome one too. As a digital payment system promoting a unified platform for financial transactions between the BRICS nations, it will enable smoother trade within the bloc, encourage the use of local currencies, and strengthen the financial sovereignty of the BRICS countries. The Venezuelan President, Nicholas Maduro, noted “BRICS have become the global political epicenter in the new world”, one which offers autonomy for countries of the global South.
Turning points for justice, inclusivity and progress carry in their womb the need for introspection and self-reflection.
In establishing the just and equal trajectories of the future, BRICS cannot merely embody a shift in who sits at the table and makes decisions. As the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi stated “We have to give the world the message that BRICS is not a divisive organization but one that works in the interest of humanity”. Even as it works to reform the United Nations, the BRICS grouping in its expansion will need to avoid the dangers of a Security Council like decision making hegemony, and base itself on democratic decision-making platform with its members and partners. And in doing so to strengthen democratic and collective decision making with a unity of purpose. Despite BRICS economic strength, internal differences and political challenges could prevent them from acting as a unified force for advance and a counterbalance to the clubs of the rich and powerful such as the G7.
BRICS grouping represents all the asymmetries of our diverse world too. China’s GDP at around 18 trillion US Dollars is higher than cumulative figure of all BRICS members. India and China’s population taken together is by far higher than all other members and partners, together making up over 35 percent of the world population, and affording them greater current, and future heft. In building the future, principled approaches which premise justice and equality based on common but differentiated responsibilities will be needed, else our peoples will ever be haunted by the shadows of the colonial past.
The “past world” represented the class interests of the privileged one percent – the interests of ruling classes, capital and its most privileged holders, including corporations and war machines. Its impacts are visible in all countries of the Global South, and among the members of the BRICS, manifesting as rising inequalities, deprivation, precarity and dispossession of the working classes, regressions on human rights and gender justice, ecological disasters and conflicts. To effectually challenge this hegemony, it is crucial to foreground the role of civic movements within BRICS countries and their working class allies in the Global North. These movements must come together to cooperate, collaborate, and find common ground in building pathways toward a just, sustainable, and peaceful world. While academics and the business sectors within BRICS are organized, labour and social movements remain fragmented. By shifting focus from differences to consensus-building through dialogue, learning, and research, working class groups can create a stronger collective voice. This collaboration is essential; otherwise, war alliances like NATO will continue to prevail, siphoning resources away from meeting basic human needs, as Mia Mottley, the Prime Minster of Barbados, pointed out when she noted that wars drain money from the system that could be better utilized for societal welfare.
A global South promise, is one of liberation from the interests of and super accumulation by the rich and powerful. It is one of ensuring views and agency of all the working peoples, and those who suffer hunger, discrimination and exploitation, those who suffer patriarchy, caste, and the oppressions of privilege are represented first and foremost in and by the BRICS and in all its actions to build world peace, justice and solidarity.
As BRICS travels to Brazil later this year, its Presidency will need to shoulder these social expectations. Farce of the past cannot have space in any pact of future.
*The writer who is a leading member of ActionAid acknowledges his article gained from insights of Malhotra, Policy Researcher at ActionAid Association, India, and Amalia Pulungan, a Global South researcher from Indonesia.
Havana, Nov 12 (RHC) The Executive Committee of the World Peace Council (WPC) strongly condemned the United States’ embargo on Cuba and the designation of the island as a state sponsor of terrorism.
In a statement issued following a meeting held in Kathmandu, in Nepal, the participants expressed solidarity with Cuba in the face of the effects of the natural disasters that recently affected it.
The signatories also strongly condemned Israel’s genocide in the Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza, as well as the aggressions of the Zionist army of Tel Aviv in southern Lebanon, Syria, and its attacks on Iran.
The final text also addresses the most pressing issues of the current world and rejects the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for their continued involvement in the war in Europe and their desire to prolong the conflict.
Fernando González, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), attended the meeting, where he presented a report on the activities carried out by ICAP during the past period and the key actions taken by the organizations in the region.
In side meetings with leaders of political, youth, and student organizations, as well as solidarity groups from Nepal, González discussed the situation in the Caribbean nation and received support and admiration from the participants.
He proposed Kathmandu as the venue for the 11th Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, which is scheduled to take place in 2026. (Source: PL)
Beijing, 10 November, 2024 (Prensa Latina) – China and Cuba strengthened their cooperation in the field of biotechnology during an official visit by the President of the National Assembly of the People’s Power, Esteban Lazo.
Lazo, who is also the head of the Caribbean country’s Council of State, met with Chinese and Cuban businessmen during a visit to the Shandong Lukang joint venture in Shandong province.
According to officials, the parties discussed the CIGB-814 development licence agreement and commercial cooperation with the BioCubaFarma group.
The meeting also highlighted the Sino-Cuban International Joint Research Centre for Innovative Medicines, established between Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical Company, BioCubaFarma and China Pharmaceutical University.
Lazo is concluding an official visit to China focused on parliamentary relations, which will last until November 12 and is part of an Asian tour that has already included Vietnam and Laos.
The Head of State has already held high-level meetings with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, and Wang Huning, Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Bilateral ties in the biotechnology sector have been growing for 20 years, with the creation of joint ventures and the production of innovative medicines developed by Cuba such as Nimotuzumab.
Recently, the two countries inaugurated a new 100 per cent Cuban company in the city of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, owned by BioCubaFarma.
The company, called BioBridge Medical Technology Co. Ltd, will help promote research and development projects and strengthen relations between Chinese, Cuban and Latin American businessmen on this field in general.
Havana, 10 November (Prensa Latina) Cuba is on its feet and recovering, with numerous signs of solidarity from within the country and from other nations around the world, President Miguel Díaz-Canel asserted after visiting municipalities hit by Hurricane Rafael in this capital.
Speaking to the press, the President highlighted the broad participation of the people, led by young people, students and the armed forces, as a sign of national unity in the face of adversity, contrary to the image of discouragement being spread by some international media, he said.
He also expressed his gratitude for the support expressed to the island by several nations, including Russia and Venezuela, as well as organisations of the United Nations system and the European Union, which have provided resources to help those affected and to face the national electricity emergency.
The Head of State also reported that in recent days he had met with ambassadors and representatives of countries which expressed their governments’ willingness to send necessary aid to Cuba.
On Saturday afternoon, Díaz-Canel toured five municipalities in the capital where the damage of Hurricane Rafael, which hit western Cuba on November 5 as a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, are still visible.
Cuban television news footage shows numerous fallen trees and damage to electrical infrastructure in La Lisa, Marianao, Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros and Plaza de la Revolución, preventing the full restoration of services.
President of Cuban parliament highlights Chinese friendship and solidarity
Havana, Nov 11 (Radio Habana Cuba) The President of the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba, Esteban Lazo, today held meetings in Beijing with academics, former diplomats, artists, and other Chinese friends of the solidarity movement.
Lazo emphasized the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries, a historical bond that dates back to 177 years ago when the first Chinese coolies arrived in the largest of the Antilles.
The President of the Cuban Parliament received the “Ambassador of Peace” medal from Wang Hongzhuan, the secretary general of the China Foundation for World Peace.
Wang emphasized the desire of China to promote cultural diplomacy and peace projects with Cuba within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, in favor of regional security, national dignity, and cooperation in various areas such as economy, society, and media.
He also urged the protection of the island’s intangible heritage to ensure that this special relationship continues through generations.
Caridad Diego, head of the Office of Attention to Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and president of the Cuba-China Parliamentary Friendship Group, stated that bilateral ties have grown in many ways this year.
She also referred to the challenges faced by the island, the negative consequences of the US blockade, and Washington’s persecution policies.
Diego expressed gratitude to the former ambassadors of China to Cuba, the members of the Ibero-American Chapter of the Association of Returned Students of the West, and the friends and institutions of the economic and business sector of China for their donations and comprehensive aid.
During the final day of his visit, Lazo also met with Cuban members of the state mission in Beijing to discuss Cuba’s socio-economic situation and other matters of interest.
As part of their tour of Asia, the representatives of the Caribbean island previously visited Vietnam and Laos. (Source: PL)
Havana, November 10 (Radio Habana Cuba) — Following a call from the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists (UJC), work brigades met in the capital municipality of Arroyo Naranjo after the passage of Hurricane Rafael to support recovery efforts in that territory.
Yasel Mitjans Septien, First Secretary of the UJC in Arroyo Naranjo, told the Cuban News Agency exclusively that young people from the University Student Federation and the Secondary Education Federation, the Faculty of Medical Sciences “Julio Trigo”, the Hermanos Saíz Association and the Youth Technical Brigades joined the tasks.
After the organizational measures adopted, Mitjans Septien referred to the collection of solid waste, the cleaning of streets and different centers of the territory as the main tasks to be developed.
The first secretary of the UJC in Arroyo Naranjo highlighted that leaders of different entities in the area and members of the affected communities have progressively joined, which is why participation has been massive.
He highlighted the work of many young people who still do not have electricity in their homes and, even so, went out to the streets to support neighbors and promote the common good above the individual.
The strong winds and rains associated with Hurricane Rafael in western Cuba caused severe damage in localities in the municipalities of Arroyo Naranjo, Playa, Boyeros, La Lisa, Marianao and Cotorro.
Havana, November 9 (RHC)– Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez thanked the European Union for the efforts of this community of 27 countries to support Cuba in repairing the damage caused by Hurricane Oscar in eastern Cuba, specifically in the territories of the province of Guantánamo.
“We appreciate the efforts of the European Union to provide support to the areas affected by Hurricane Oscar in eastern #Cuba. International cooperation is an important aid in the country’s recovery process,” wrote the Foreign Minister on the social network X.
Bruno Rodríguez reproduced a message from the European Union that refers to the support of this economic and political association “to the Cuban people in difficult times” and that an air bridge has been launched to Santiago de Cuba with 100 tons of essential supplies and has allocated 600 thousand euros for communities affected by Hurricane Oscar.
This hydrometeorological event hit the northeastern region on October 20, and later transformed into a tropical storm, ravaging several of the easternmost territories of Cuba for hours, leaving eight dead, two missing and millions in losses to the economy, road infrastructure and society.
