Geneva/The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez, appeared this Monday at the Human Rights Council, from where he conveyed to the United States the message that “he will defend with vigor and courage his right to self-determination,” but at the same time he made an offer to maintain a dialogue based on mutual respect.
In a speech at that forum, the chancellor promised that a humanitarian crisis in Cuba will be prevented as a consequence of what his Government calls “the energy siege”, the result of Washington’s decision to threaten countries that export oil to the Island with tariffs.
“Can a great power be allowed to try to destroy a small nation, cause a humanitarian tragedy, destroy its national culture (…) All this under the crude pretext of national security?” the chancellor asked himself.
“Can a great power be allowed to try to destroy a small nation, cause a humanitarian tragedy, destroy its national culture (…) All this under the crude pretext of national security?”
At that point, he acknowledged that the situation in which the United States has placed Cuba will cause “deprivation and suffering,” although he trusted that “creative solutions” will be found to mitigate the humanitarian damage.
However, in the same intervention, the chancellor assured that “there is also a willingness for a dialogue with the United States,” but he emphasized that this would have to be based on “international law, mutual respect, reciprocal benefit, without preconditions or interference in internal affairs.”
Rodríguez noted that the goal should be “to achieve a civilized relationship within our differences, and even promote cooperation.”
In a passage of his speech, the Cuban minister welcomed the “community resistance of the people of Minnesota”, in reference to the demonstrations with the immigration policy of the US federal government and the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), the immigration police.
In recent weeks, the United States has repeatedly stated that it is holding talks with representatives of the Cuban regime and even insisted that part of the Government does not know. The versions differ on who the dialogue is with, whether Raúl Castro’s son or grandson.
The Díaz-Canel Executive assures that this is not true and that everything Washington says is to instill distrust in Havana, while recognizing that there are conversations: the usual ones and limited to immigration or drug trafficking issues.
