The President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz Canelcharged against America’s “egregious and outdated policy” after the massive caravans registered over the weekend in the cities of Santa Clara and Bayamo against the blockade. The mobilizations were replicated in other parts of the world such as Ecuador, Belgium, Italy or Tunisia. According to figures provided by the Cuban authorities, the damages as a result of these unilateral policies of the White House for six decades amount to 147,853 million dollars.
“The call began to circulate on social networks and WhatsApp groups a few days ago, but immediately several of us joined the initiative. Almost all of them are from my classroom, some with flags, another brought a loudspeaker. The idea is that it is known that here we do not lose our joy or patriotism, even though there is a blockade“, assured Allan Estradaa young university student from Santa Clara present in the caravan since dawn.
Estrada was one of hundreds of Santa Clara residents who gathered on the outskirts of the city. The agreed route is very symbolic since in 1959 the Caravan of La Libertad entered through that same placethe path followed for more than a thousand kilometers by the rebel army after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution from January 2 to 8 of that year.
In Santa Clara, the tour included bicycles, small cars, tricycles, a panoramic bus and several motorcycles. On one part of the route, 50 peasants on horseback joined to reach the place that keeps the remains of Che Guevara, a historical space that served to end the route.
President Diaz Canel shared on his Twitter account some of the images of the anti-blockade caravans held in Santa Clara and Bayamo. He in turn highlighted international solidarity. “Brothers from many cities of the world build bridges of love towards Cuba. We are not going to get tired of demanding the end of an atrocious and obsolete policy,” warned the Cuban president.
Just as it happened in Santa Clara, in Bayamo hundreds of young people, workers and peasants traveled several kilometers from the city to demand the end of the embargo. In the cradle of the national anthem, the Bayamese took to the streets full of flags and chants to break the stillness of dawn. Media outlets also confirmed that other demonstrations against the blockade took place simultaneously in countries such as Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Germany, Belgium, Italy or Tunisia.
The global initiative arose to make visible the damage caused by the embargo in Cuba, which considers it contrary to international law and the cause of its serious economic situation. The first sanctions began to be applied in February 1962with the signing by the then US president, John F. Kennedy, of executive order 3447.
Sanctions progressively tightened over the years, with the exception of the so-called thaw season promoted by Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro. Former president Donald Trump was the one who gave the last twist to these sanctions, with a new package of more than 200 restrictions. The current US Democratic administration has kept them for the time being.
Since 1992 Cuba annually presents to the UN the report against the US blockade, and has an overwhelming majority of countries that support it in his claim, as happened in 2021 when he received the favorable vote of 184 nations, and only the rejection of the United States and Israel, and the abstention of Brazil, Colombia and Ukraine.
