🇨🇺Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez ParrillaCuba · UNGA 81 speech

Mr. President of the General Assembly, Deputy Secretary-General, in about three hours' time, it will be exactly 66 years since Fidel Castro Ruz in a memorable speech spoke at this event, the philosophy of the spoils is disappearing and we will see disappear the philosophy of war. We will see colonies disappear, the exploitation of peoples by monopolies disappear and humanity will then have achieved a genuine stage of progress. However, It is alarming to see the advance of expansionism, usurpation, plunder, conquest, as well as military and economic aggressions. The US government aspiration to impose peace through force is unrealizable. The fundamental pillars of international law and the United Nations Organization, such as the sovereign equality among states, under permanent attack. The genocidal crime of Zionism against the Palestinian people, the pirate attacks against vessels, and the extrajudicial executions in the Caribbean Sea and some areas in the Pacific, the military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran are new expressions of this atrocity. They are also a reflection of the crisis of identity and relevance imposed on the United Nations Organization and even on this General Assembly, the most universal, democratic and representative body of the international community. We are convinced of the need to preserve and strengthen the United Nations. This is indispensable as we make it more democratic and effective and closer to its peoples. As is well known, in Cuba we are facing a multidimensional aggression from the United States government, a permanent, abusive and ruthless hostility that has lasted for almost seven decades. Since January 2026, this aggression has strengthened and become more cruel and more dangerous, with the imposition of an energy blockade that, by resorting to intimidation and coercion, prevents any country from exporting fuel to Cuba, an equivalent to a naval blockade, which is classified under international law as an act of war. Through the adoption of successive measures, the government of the United States has been applying new prohibitions on all countries with regard to products and services that cannot be exported or transported to Cuba. More than 7,000 containers remain stranded in different ports, many of them loaded with foodstuffs, medicines and medical devices, and some of them have even been paid for by private Cuban companies. It is an unusual and unprecedented action. A superpower unilaterally deprives all states of their right to export the commodities that they wish to the country that they wish to export them to, and continuously and comprehensively violates freedom of trade and navigation. Added to this is the intimidation of entrepreneurs of different countries so that they abandon against their will their investments and businesses in Cuba. The obstacles and tricks to prevent the arrival in Cuba of absolutely legitimate commercial shipments, the pressures to prevent the entry of visitors and tourists, and the efforts aimed at restricting as much as possible Cuba's legitimate access to financing, technology, and markets. It's even gone as far as the United States exerting unseen pressure on sovereign governments so that they renounce the medical services they requested from us for the benefit of their respective populations, and which are offered by Cuban professionals altruistically because the US government is opposed to such cooperation. regardless of the impact and harm that this may cause to those populations if they are deprived of free, quality medical care, that is to say, deprived of an elemental human right. Last Thursday, the State Department convened within this General Assembly, a humiliating meeting specifically with the states that are the recipients of this cooperation in order to apply pressure and make threats. According to the US Secretary of State, the official policy of the United States is to shut down every relief valve from Cuba, to block every possible way out and eliminate any form of survival for Cuba. The impact of such an ironclad and ruthless siege has a human face. The economic warfare is aimed against the people. It harms the Cuban people as a whole. It takes a toll on human lives. It causes individual and collective pain. It causes anguish. It is not collateral damage. It is a policy deliberately designed to wound the deepest sensibilities of Cuban families, disturb their well-being, and hurt the dignity of the people. It is an act of collective punishment, a crime also proscribed by international humanitarian law. The obvious short-term immediate goal pursued by such a policy is to induce a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, which is also a crime. The government of the United States and the US State Department have been forced to recognize the suffering inflicted on the Cuban people, but they have the impudence and cynicism to insist in putting the blame on the government of Cuba. The executioner is blaming the victim. They are following the formula recommended by the State Department since 1960 in the infamous "Mallory Memorandum," which established as an official policy, and it's in force up until today, the overthrowing of the Cuban government through the economic suffocation and the extreme suffering of the Cuban people out of material shortages, hunger, and desperation. The President of the United States declared in this room a few days ago that Cuba is a failed state. Well, if that were the case, why did they have to impose a fuel blockade? Why did they impose secondary sanctions? Why do they have to threaten, persecute and exert pressures on all other states on the planet? The President of the United States also recognized that his government is putting on Cuba the biggest pressure ever applied. And a few months before, he said, and I quote, "All that is left is to go in and destroy everything." The threat of the use of military force against Cuba persists. This behavior is a violation of international law. and a serious infringement of the San Francisco Charter. Should it materialize, it would be

a major crime. It would cause the death of Cuban and American youths, as well as huge destruction. Let's hope that this never happens. Cuba will exercise with full resolve and energy its legitimate right to defend itself. This aggression is being accompanied by a brutal media and cognitive warfare aimed not just against the Cuban people, but also against the citizens of the United States and international public opinion. It is characterized by its gross and brazen attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Cuba, which is also another international crime. We are often asked, well, what is the US pursuing with such aggressive behavior? And the question usually surprises us because the representatives of this government have outrightly declared their purpose to take Cuba, to control the country, and to dominate its economy. In other words, to nullify through aggression or economic suffocation the national sovereignty which several generations of Cubans have struggled for since the 19th century, first to achieve it and, later on, after conquering full freedom in 1959, to tenaciously defend it against the biggest risks, including that of a holocaust. The US behaviour relies on the fallacy proclaimed early on this year that Cuba is an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and the foreign policy of the United States. A nonsense shamelessly repeated by that government. In a futile attempt to substantiate such an assertion, the US government then inundates its huge communication platforms with false claims using the spokespersons and publications it hires, taking advantage of the increasing control exercised by its governments over them. The US president himself repeated this lie a few days ago in this chamber. Any minimally informed observer would understand the unrealistic and barbarous intention to portray a relatively small and developing nation such as Cuba with a modest economic performance as a threat to the biggest nuclear, military, technological and economic power on the planet. This organization and its member states have abundant evidence of the fact that we are a peace-loving country, of the efforts of Cuba in favor of international cooperation, understanding, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, as well as the active role that we have always played in support of the United Nations. Cuba is not a threat. What is, is the blockade. Cuba is not a threat. The blockade, yes, is a threat. We have always been and will always be prepared for dialogue with the government of the United States in order to try to find solutions to the various bilateral differences that we have on the basis of seriousness, respect, sovereign equality, and respect for international law without any interference in domestic affairs and without preconditions. We are prepared for trade, commercial relations with US corporations as we would be with any other country. We are aware of the immense challenge that our country faces in terms of its security, survival, the well-being of its people, and the destiny of the nation. We are not facing this challenge passively. We are doing it firmly and with dignity. And on this basis, we are moving forward on a process of changes that would lead to profound transformations of the economic and social model of the country based on our historical experience. Last 30th of July, during the closing ceremony of the seventh session of the National People's Power Assembly, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, given the complex situation I've described, referred to how we can continue to grow socialism. How can we find the financial and material resources needed to preserve the social achievements attained by the revolution? And as on former occasions when we were faced with particularly complex situations, such as under the guidance of the first commander in chief and later of the army, General Raul Castro, the economic model was transformed to adapt it to the challenging foreign circumstances demanded by the times. And in the current situation, we promise to take the changes that are needed for the moment under the leadership of the party in a collective and democratic way, in consultation with the people, without compromising the independence, national sovereignty, or the social achievements of the revolution." End of quotation. The National People's Power Assembly at that meeting adopted a new program. with new practices, actors and economic concepts. All of that is being done in accordance with the Constitution in force, which was adopted through a free and universal referendum, and the conception of our socialist state of law and social justice. As was pointed out by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, General Raul Castro Ruz, the most important thing will be, and I quote, "the appropriate and timely implementation process with well-defined priorities and the conscious participation of the people." End of quotation. This process relies on the strengths that we have been able to build. the potential of our human resources and the determination to respond to the needs of the people with the greatest possible social justice, without ceasing in our efforts to defend with the utmost rigor and resolve the sovereignty and the right to self-determination. We know that we can count on the support of the international community and the solidarity of millions of people, amongst them increasingly United States citizens. They have repeatedly shown in various demonstrations their support for Cuba and their rejection of this aggression and have provided solidarity and aid to our peoples to try to mitigate the enormous damage that is being made to Cuban society and its economy. This spirit of empathy and solidarity is also expressed particularly strongly amongst the Cubans who live permanently or temporarily outside of Cuba's borders and their descendants, particularly those living here in the United States. Mr. President, we reject the Monroe Doctrine as we repudiate any attempt for military intervention or domination in Latin America and the Caribbean, proclaimed as a zone of peace in 2014, where in Havana. As a small island developing state, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who share similar circumstances. and we warn against the worrying and inexorable advance of climate change. What we need to do is to promote governance that is more inclusive in the use of the new ICTs and telecommunications, particularly the disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence. We reject the implementation of unilateral coercive measures. We express our support to and solidarity with each and every nation that is a victim of them. We once again state our solidarity with the Government of National Reconciliation and Unity of Nicaragua. We reiterate our support for the inalienable right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence. The sister nations of Africa and the Caribbean deserve a fair and differentiated treatment, as well as reparations for the horrors of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. We reaffirm our solidarity with the Saharan people and their right to self-determination. We once again state our support of the One China principle. We strongly believe that the current trend of international relations, of disrespect for international law and of the United Nations, and the imposition of the unilateral will of the mightiest over other countries by means of intimidation and coercion, we believe that this is dangerous and it is unsustainable. The law of the jungle cannot be the future of humanity. To prevent these practices, in addition to promoting peace and justice, the preceding generations founded the United Nations, and for decades they developed and enriched its activity. Let us recover its role today, when we are perhaps still in time to do so, before the organization goes down in history as an unrealized dream of great promises. In the year of his centennial, we believe, as Fidel Castro Ruz, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, said, that let us be confident that if we struggle with resolve, a better world is possible. Homeland or death, we shall overcome.