The people of Cuba are going through a difficult situation marked by the cumulative effect of more than six decades of economic blockade, intensified in recent years and accompanied since January 2026 by an energy siege that further restricts access to vital resources.
This policy, described by multiple international voices as unjust and inhumane, seeks to strangle the economy and punish the population. By its declared purpose and the political, legal, and administrative framework on which it rests, it qualifies as an act of genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
On May 11, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, reiterated that the sanctions imposed by the United States government against Cuba violate International Law and that such coercive measures have been overwhelmingly rejected by the majority of the international community in the UN General Assembly.
This refers to the Resolution against the economic, commercial, and financial blockade that Cuba has presented since 1992 in the UN General Assembly and which has been approved by a wide majority.
Another example of the hostile policy of the United States government against Cuba is its infamous inclusion in the State Department’s list of countries allegedly sponsoring terrorism. Honest and sensible people know that including Cuba on such a list is a falsehood: the Greater Antilles is a country characterised by the promotion of peace, both internally and abroad.
However, inclusion on that list has a real impact on the Cuban economy and financial transactions with the rest of the world. This unilateral decision by the U.S. executive causes the loss of relations with banking and financial entities that refuse to maintain operations with the Island, fearing sanctions from U.S. authorities.
Furthermore, the aggressive escalation against Cuba in recent days has reached unprecedented levels with threats of military aggression. The warlike rhetoric directed at Cuba seeks to portray the country as a hostile target, when in reality it is a nation that has made peace and solidarity its fundamental principles.
A noble, hardworking, and supportive people do not deserve to be attacked by the military might of the United States. The streets of Cuba do not deserve to be strafed from the skies by war machines, just as the streets of Caracas did not in January. The children of Cuba do not deserve to be bombed by the death machines of imperialism, just as the girls of Iran did not in February.
As warned in the Statement of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 7, 2026, Cuba will never cease in its effort to denounce the criminal nature of these measures of aggression aimed at starving and driving the Cuban population into despair to generate a national-scale social, economic, and political catastrophe.
Our country firmly rejects the U.S. government’s intention to construct a humanitarian crisis scenario to justify more dangerous actions, including military aggression.
A military aggression against Cuba would be unjust from every point of view and contrary to international law. The peoples and governments of the world cannot remain indifferent to this threat, which would endanger the lives of millions of people and regional stability.
The defense of Cuba is also the defense of justice and the sovereignty of all peoples resisting external impositions. As José Martí once said: “Those who rise today with Cuba, rise for all time.” The Cuban cause is, in essence, a cause of human dignity.
The international community is called upon to confront this offensive, which represents a dangerous intensification of imperialism’s effort to impose its dominance and decide Cuba’s course, thereby undermining the independence and sovereignty of all nations.
Every gesture of support, every word, and every concrete action remind us that the island is not alone in this struggle. Cuba’s voice rises to reaffirm that peace and justice must prevail over the threat of war.
Yadirys Echenique Paz, is the resident Ambassador of Cuba to Grenada