STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE CUBAN PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT

STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE CUBAN PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT

by Sonny Melencio

Defend Cuba Against U.S. Aggression and Imperialist Intervention

1. Warm greetings to Her Excellency Yadira Ledesma Hernández, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the Philippines, whose distinguished diplomatic service has contributed greatly to strengthening solidarity, friendship, and cooperation between Cuba and the peoples of Asia, including the Philippines.

2. This is not the first time na magkaroon tayo ng pagkakataon to welcome the Cuban ambassador to the Philippines. I remember the ambassador or the acting ambassador around 2010 when we, together with many organizations and individuals, formed the PhilCuba or Phiippine-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association headed by former UP President Francisco ‘Ka Dodong’ Nemenzo.

3. That was the time na marami tayong naging aktibidad in solidarity with the Cuban government and the Cuban people. I remember again ang film showings natin, ang cultural events and even exchanges, a Cuban diplomatic mission that visited UP in 2021, and our activities connected to the July 26 Moncada rebellion and other activities against the US blockade and for the release of the Cuban 5 (Los Cincos Cubanos) arrested in the United States.

4. Now we have Ambassador Ledesma to further deepen relations between Cuba and the Philippines in the fields of diplomacy, cultural exchange, and people-to-people cooperation, while consistently upholding Cuba’s proud tradition of sovereignty, social justice, and internationalism.

5. Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) extends our highest respect and expresses our firm solidarity with the people and government of Cuba in the face of continuing threats, economic warfare, destabilization efforts, and imperialist aggression by the government of the United States.

6. For more than six decades, Cuba has endured a brutal economic blockade, political isolation, sanctions, covert operations, and repeated interventionist measures designed to strangle the Cuban economy and undermine its sovereignty.

7. These attacks are not about “democracy” or “human rights.” They are part of a long-standing imperialist strategy to crush an independent country that refused subordination to U.S. domination and chose a socialist path of development.

8. The United States under the Trump administration has further escalated tensions. The U.S. government move to indict former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, alongside open discussions within U.S. political circles regarding aggressive military measures against Cuba, represent a dangerous escalation in Washington’s long-running campaign against the Cuban Revolution.

9. The deployment of increased U.S. military assets in the Caribbean, coupled with inflammatory rhetoric and regime-change pressures, further heightens instability in the region and threatens the Cuban people’s right to peace and self-determination.

10. PLM condemns all attempts at regime change, foreign intervention, destabilization campaigns, judicial harassment, and economic coercion directed against Cuba. The future of Cuba must be determined solely by the Cuban people themselves, free from imperialist pressure and interference.

11. Despite enormous pressures and material limitations imposed by the blockade, Cuba continues to demonstrate important gains in public healthcare, education, scientific development, disaster response, and international solidarity. Cuba’s medical internationalism and support for peoples struggling against oppression remain a powerful example of socialist solidarity in practice.

12. The struggle to defend Cuba is inseparable from the broader struggle against imperialism, militarism, neoliberalism, and capitalist exploitation worldwide. 

The attacks on Cuba are also a warning to all countries and peoples seeking genuine sovereignty, social justice, and independent development outside the control of the major imperialist powers.

PLM therefore calls for:

1. The immediate lifting of the U.S. economic blockade and all unilateral coercive sanctions against Cuba;

2. The removal of Cuba from all arbitrary U.S. blacklists and interventionist mechanisms;

3. Respect for Cuba’s sovereignty and right to self-determination;

4. International solidarity with the Cuban people against imperialist aggression and destabilization efforts;

5. The strengthening of global struggles for socialism, anti-imperialism, peace, and peoples’ sovereignty.

We stand with the Cuban people in their continuing struggle to defend their sovereignty, social gains, and socialist future.

Hands Off Cuba! End the Blockade!

Viva Cuba Libre!

Hasta la victoria siempre!