Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the XXIV Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 14, 2024, "Year 66 of the Revolution". Translated from the Spanish.
Comrade Nicolás Maduro Moros, brother and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Dear Nicolás, it is always pleasant and exciting to be in your beloved Caracas, and in the land of Chávez, eternal Commander in the hearts of the Latin American peoples.
And it is doubly gratifying and exciting to be in these sacred sites, together with the friends-brothers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, celebrating a transcendent moment in common history.
Dear Presidents and Brother Commanders Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Luis Arce Catacora;
Dear Prime Ministers Ralph Gonsalves, Roosevelt Skerrit and Gaston Browne;
Dear representative of the Republic of Honduras, to whose President Xiomara Castro I send a fraternal embrace.
Friend Malki and representatives of the Palestinian State, to whom I reiterate the firmest solidarity of the Cuban people and government; that solidarity that we offer every day to the hundreds of Palestinian students who are in Cuba (Applause).
Comrade Jorge Arreaza, executive secretary of ALBA-TCP;
Heads of delegations and representatives of the nations that make up the Alliance;
Guests;
Members of social movements;
Participants:
Twenty years have passed since the memorable evening of December 14, 2004, in Havana, when Fidel and Chávez sealed with an embrace the birth of ALBA, an emancipatory process that time has transformed into an embrace of our peoples.
Five years later, ALBA-TCP would climb in its international scope with the incorporation, first, of Bolivia and Nicaragua; and then Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the first three countries in the English-speaking Caribbean to honour us with their participation.
With the subsequent additions of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Saint Lucia, the Alliance strengthened its voice and regional reach to become what it is today: a space of fraternity, solidarity, cooperation, respect, unity, and struggle for the interests of the dispossessed; voice of the voiceless; a vocal defense of historic comrades against dependence and subordination to imperialism and regional oligarchies.
Today we are once again joined at a summit of ALBA-TCP, a milestone in the battle for the unity of Our America and in defense of social justice, for the better possible world that we all yearn for.
Not once have we missed a meeting, as we will never be absent from the cause of American integration, with so many dreams and projects remaining, and this meeting like the previous ones does not fail to move us; as do the dreams and projects that Fidel and Chávez promoted and realized like no one else since the times of Bolívar, responding to the aspirations of millions of people. And it is up to all of us who follow in their footsteps now, when times are no less challenging for our nations, to advance and realize this with the same will.
The road has not been easy. The iron will of each one of us to see ALBA-TCP advance was what allowed the Alliance to consolidate itself in an inclusive integration process, which is distinguished by the coordination of actions to face common dangers, by always putting the well-being, development and prosperity of the peoples at the center of decisions.
Dear Heads of State and Government, friends,
The threats to the security and stability of several of our countries have given rise to numerous meetings of the Alliance this year to confront together the very complex international and regional scenario that we face.
As Army General Raúl Castro Ruz warned at the fifteenth ALBA-TCP Summit: "... we are at a crucial stage in our history, in which a setback on a regional scale would have very negative impacts on our peoples."
Today the system of international relations suffers from the imbalances of an unjust, unequal and exclusive order. We are witnessing the promotion of hate speech and violence, of unbridled incitement of extremism, and the return to old, but not overcome, mechanisms of imperialist domination. In addition to the attempted coups d'état and persecution of leftist and progressive political figures, today there is a ferocious media machine aimed at sowing terror and lies.
The Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny are not old theories from the nineteenth century. Its expansionist and hegemonic concepts are more present than ever in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Imperialism and the oligarchies have never renounced the perverse objective of dividing peoples, sowing enmity between the governments of the region, in order to limit the scope of public policies of a social nature, and appropriate the valuable natural resources of this rich geography undermining the advance of a Latin American and Caribbean integration that would deepen independence.
They ignore international law and the most elementary norms of coexistence with absolute contempt for developing nations, through unilateralism and blackmail.
A profound reform of the current international order is therefore necessary, so that solidarity and cooperation finally prevail over differences.
It is imperative to recover multilateralism in order to move towards a new order in which the countries of the South participate on an equal footing in global decision-making.
The philosophy of dispossession ceases and the philosophy of war will cease, as Fidel said in one of his historic speeches at the United Nations. Colonialism, neocolonialism, growing fascism and any other manifestation that threatens international peace and security spring from this desire for possession and control, from the permanent attempt to dispossess others of their lands, their property and even their lives.
The need for a new international financial architecture that would close the abysmal gap that today separates North and South and provide fair treatment to developing countries in the decision-making process and in access to sources of financing is increasingly evident.
There is an urgent need, as never before, for full respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in particular, the sovereign equality of states, the self-determination of peoples, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the rejection of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
It requires the unwavering will and effort of all for unity, integration and peace. In this regard, we affirm the absolute relevance of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, in which we demonstrate the commitment to banish forever from the region the use and threat of the use of force.
The dramatic and precipitous events in Syria, which led to a change in power in that nation, are part of a dangerous and risky reshaping of the Middle East in the service of the interests of the United States, Israel and the West.
We demand the preservation of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Syria and the unity of its people.
Dear Heads of State and Government, friends,
The growing trend towards the application of unilateral coercive measures against countries that do not submit to imperial hegemony, causing direct, intentional and politically motivated damage to the sovereignty and independence of the states against which they are directed is extremely alarming. These measures violate the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and hinder the efforts of nations to achieve a full realization of human rights.
Once again, we demand the complete, immediate and unconditional elimination of all unilateral coercive measures. (Applause) This is a historic demand of the international community embodied in resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, as well as in numerous statements by the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and China, and the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.
For the past 62 years, the United States Government has imposed on Cuba the most severe and prolonged system of unilateral coercive measures ever applied against any nation.
It is a deliberate act of economic warfare by a powerful empire against a small developing nation. It constitutes a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of all Cubans, and has been almost unanimously repudiated by the international community.
Since 2019, the blockade against Cuba has escalated to an extreme, much more cruel and inhumane level, which is not only impacting us with very high costs in material and financial resources, but also overwhelms the daily life of our nation in ways that are unsustainable.
The prolongation of this policy over time has an incalculable psychological cost, which has had a brutal impact on the Cuban family, fracturing it, dividing it and torturing it. And while they are executing this policy, its designers and architects cynically accuse the Cuban government of harming the people due to the shortcomings that the U.S. government causes.
Its effects have been further reinforced by the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in the State Department's unilateral list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism. It is a designation without any foundation, authority or international support, used to try to justify and tighten the siege against the Cuban Revolution.
Cuba cooperates fully with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as the State Department recently admitted, but this was not enough. The international community widely recognizes that Cuba is not a terrorist country. Cuba must be removed without further delay from this spurious unilateral list, a lie that has a suffocating impact on the economy.
We thank all the comradely peoples and governments represented here for their permanent support for the demand that the embargo against Cuba be ended and that we be excluded from the aforementioned unilateral list.
We also convey our deep gratitude for the demonstrations of solidarity with the Cuban people, after the impact of the recent natural disasters that have hit the island.
The scenario that has confronted us in our relations with the United States was not a surprise for Cuba, it was predictable and we had been preparing for it. But the policies and the principles of the Cuban Revolution remain unchanged.
We reaffirm our willingness to engage in serious and responsible dialogue, to move towards a constructive and civilized relationship, based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit for both peoples, regardless of the deep political differences between governments.
Cuba reaffirms its determination to defend its sovereign right to build its own, independent, socialist future, free from foreign interference and committed to peace, sustainable development, social justice and solidarity.
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We ratify the commitment to the defense of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, which ten years after its approval at the Second CELAC Summit in Havana in January 2014, remains in full force.
We reiterate our solidarity with the countries gathered here that have been subjected to attempts at destabilization and external interference. In particular, we reiterate the firmest support for the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution led with acuity by President Nicolás Maduro Moros (Applause), which maintains its determination to defend its people from unacceptable external pressures.
Questioning the institutions and laws of another country does not contribute to regional stability, it is up to the people of Bolívar and Chávez to define their future.
We reiterate our full support for Commander President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and his people. The destabilizing actions against the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of Nicaragua must stop!
To the Plurinational State of Bolivia we express our support and solidarity in the defense of its sovereignty over its natural resources and in the face of destabilizing attempts (Applause).
We welcome the holding of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States in our sister and beloved Antigua and Barbuda. We recognize the results achieved with the adoption of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States, aimed at expanding cooperation, supporting debt sustainability and creating the means of implementing this in these countries.
The Caribbean has and will always have in Cuba a sister, who stands with them and their right to receive fair, special and differentiated treatment, essential to face the growing challenges derived from the prevailing unjust international financial system and climate change, as well as in their legitimate claim for reparations and compensation for the horrors of slavery and colonialism.
We cry out for a free Puerto Rico! (Applause), and we stand in solidarity with Haiti, where there are Cuban doctors.
Distinguished colleagues,
The crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and apartheid committed by Israel which have been taking shape for 75 years against the Palestinian people, are currently reaching the most extreme proportions and must stop.
We reiterate our fervent demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.
Cuba also condemns the attacks perpetrated by Israel against friendly nations such as Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
The impunity with which the Government of Israel continues to act is only possible because of the complicity and political, military, logistical and financial support provided to the occupying power by the government of the United States, which acts cynically and perversely by presenting itself to the world as a mediator in the conflict, while preventing any possible actions by the Security Council.
Cuba demands a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the creation of two States, which would enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign state within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of its refugees.
Dear Friends,
I would like to acknowledge the Executive Secretariat, which has released more than 70 communiqués and taken numerous actions to advance the ambitious, but necessary, 2030 Strategic Agenda.
This has been a very challenging year for ALBA-TCP and for Cuba. (Applause), but in which we have always felt accompanied by the solidarity of all of you.
In just a few days, the Cuban Revolution will be 66 years old, and we will continue with the unwavering willingness to face and overcome the greatest challenges that we learned in the school of Fidel, Raúl and the heroic Centennial Generation of José Martí that precedes us. In these 66 years, the Cuban people have amply proven that their Mambí spirit has not diminished, and that, as General Antonio Maceo said, "... whoever tries to seize Cuba, will gather the dust of its ground soaked in blood, if he does not perish in fight."
Cuba will not bow down, just as the ALBA-TCP will not! (Applause.)
Let's make our collective effort and work a stronger and more united ALBA! (Applause.)
May ALBA-TCP continue to advance in the constant search for the realization of projects for the economic development and dignity of our America. We owe that to Bolívar and Martí, to the founding fathers of the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean. We owe it to Antonio José de Sucre, who led the victory of the Battle of Ayacucho 200 years ago. And we owe it especially to Fidel, to Chávez and to our peoples.
For these twenty years of solidarity and friendship, Long live ALBA-TCP!
Until Victory Always!
(Shouts of "We shall overcome!")
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