‘We Are With You’: Colombians Back Cuba Against US Blockade

A delegation of Colombian activists met with Cuban government officials Monday, expressing their solidarity with the socialist island against the ongoing U.S. economic blockade.

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Thanking Cuba for supporting Colombia’s peace process, the social movement leaders stressed that the Cuban people offer an “inspiring” example of the struggle against imperialism.

“We are happy to be in Cuba, happy to come with people who are visiting the Caribbean island for the first time,” delegation coordinator Gilma Gomez Oliveros told Granma.

“We want them to come to know this society and be bearers of the teachings that its people offer. We undertake solidarity not only for Cuba, but for our own country, so that every day we know that other worlds are possible.”

Representing the Corporacion Jose Marti Perez, an organization that promotes Cuban-Colombian solidarity, the activists denounced the U.S. government’s continuation of the blockade.

Former President John F. Kennedy first imposed the blockade against Cuba in 1962. It has since been renewed every year by the following nine presidents.

In 2016 alone, the blockade cost Cuba US$4.7 billion. Since 1962, the socialist island lost over US$750 billion because of the policy.

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Pointing out that Colombia has also been victim to U.S. economic imperialism, activist Orjuela Delgado said he hopes his country will take a socialist path. Delgado said that despite the blockade, the Cuban Revolution has still managed to accomplish a lot because of its economic model.

“We are aware that Cubans live with dignity. Here they are guaranteed free and quality education, medical coverage for 100 percent of the population, there is mass access to culture and sports,” Delgado told Granma.

“This is the example we have witnessed since the triumph of the Revolution and that is what we transmit to the Colombian people.”

In 2015, the U.N. General Assembly voted 191-2 to condemn the U.S. blockade of Cuba, with only the U.S. and Israel opposed.

U.S. President Donald Trump has not indicated any attempt to remove the blockade. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at his confirmation hearing that he would reverse former President Barack Obama’s executive orders normalizing relations with Cuba.