Mexico is willing to help the government of Cuba after days of violent protest if they so request it says AMLO

1454

“We are going to be pending and ready to help the brotherly people of Cuba (…) with humanitarian support without any political tendency or bias,” said the president in his morning press conference.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Monday that if the Cuban government considers it necessary and its people demand it, the government of Mexico could help with the shipment of medicines, vaccines, food, and “whatever is required,” he said. 

“We are going to be pending and ready to help the brotherly people of Cuba (…) with humanitarian support without any political tendency or bias,” said the president in his morning press conference.

He stressed that the government of Mexico is guided by the principles of foreign policy established in Article 89 of the Constitution, “non-intervention, self-determination of the peoples, peaceful settlement of disputes and guaranteeing human rights,” he said.

The President said that he will ask Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Relations, to be pending and that if it is necessary “to seek a relationship, to establish a communication, a bridge, to help the people of Cuba, ” he said.

López Obrador expressed his solidarity with the Cuban people, “I believe that a way out must be sought through dialogue, without the use of force, without confrontation, without violence,” he said. He stressed that it must be the Cubans who decide, “there should be no interventionism, the health situation of the Cuban people should not be used for political purposes,” he said.

He indicated that there are many countries with problems in Latin America, in the Caribbean, “it is not only the case of Cuba, however, but it is also striking that there has been an unusual display of information, of course, promoted by those who do not agree with the policies of the government of Cuba, “he said.

The chief executive asked governments and “vested interest” groups not to use humanitarian support as a banner to interfere in matters that only correspond to the Cubans to resolve. “If you wanted to help Cuba, the first thing you should do is suspend the blockade against Cuba, as most of the countries of the world are requesting, that would be a truly humanitarian gesture,” he said.

An unprecedented series of demonstrations with shouts of “freedom!” and “down with the dictatorship!” They erupted in Cuba on Sunday from Havana to Santiago as the country is going through its worst economic crisis in 30 years.

Frustrated by months of the crisis, pandemic restrictions, and what they accused was government negligence, the Cubans unleashed protests, widely disseminated on social networks, which began spontaneously in the morning, a very rare event in this country governed by the Communist Party  – the only one – where the only authorized concentrations are usually those of the party.

There were clashes, especially in Havana, where the police used tear gas, fired their weapons into the air, and used plastic tubes to beat the hundreds of protesters who took to the streets. Government supporters also staged some counter-demonstrations in the capital.

The president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, surprised by the spontaneous demonstrations that broke out in several cities of the country – including Havana – gave the revolutionaries “the order of combat”, calling for them to “take to the streets wherever they go. produce these provocations, from now on and in all these days. “

Díaz-Canel will speak on television this Monday with part of his government, a day after historic protests against the communist government that unleashed antagonistic reactions in the United States and Russia

The US stands with the Cuban people in their demand for freedom and relief from the pandemic says Biden

The United States stands with the Cuban people in their call for freedom and relief from the coronavirus pandemic and decades of repression, President Joe Biden said Monday

Photo: AFP

The United States stands with the Cuban people in their call for freedom and relief from the coronavirus pandemic and decades of repression, President Joe Biden said Monday.

“The Cuban people are courageously claiming fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including that of peaceful protest and self-determination for their own future, must be respected,” Biden said in a statement.

The United States asks the Cuban regime to listen to its people and serve their needs in this vital moment instead of enriching itself, “he added.

The US president urged the communist government of Cuba not to resort to violence against street protests.

“We stand with the Cuban people and their clear call for freedom and rescue from the tragic clutches of the pandemic and the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by the authoritarian regime of Cuba,” declared Biden.

“The United States asks the Cuban regime, instead of enriching itself, to listen to its people and attend to their needs in this vital moment.”

The Cuban government accuses Washington of being behind the unprecedented protests registered on Sunday, July 11, on the island.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Monday that the US economic sanctions were the cause of the unrest, calling them “a policy of economic suffocation to provoke social outbreaks in the country.”

The reaction of the Biden administration was immediate: Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it a “serious mistake” for the Cuban leader to hold the United States responsible for the historic protests.

It would be a serious mistake for the Cuban regime to interpret what is happening in dozens of towns and cities on the island as a result or product of whatever the United States has done, “he told reporters.

So far focused more on internal issues, such as the fight against COVID-19 and the approval of infrastructure laws, while withdrawing from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, the Biden government had practically ignored the Cuban issue until today.

But the island has a growing weight in American politics. The strong presence of Cubans and Cuban-Americans in Florida, one of the key states to win the presidency, carries a lot of weight in the elections.

On Sunday, the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had warned Cuba against the crackdown on protesters.

“The United States supports freedom of expression and assembly in Cuba, and would strongly condemn any use of violence against peaceful protesters who are exercising their universal rights,” he tweeted.

Also responding to the statement of the Cuban authorities, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that the riots were “spontaneous expressions of people exhausted from the Cuban government.”

The protesters react “to the harsh reality of daily life in Cuba, not to people from another country.”

Source: eleconomista.com.mx

Mexico Daily Post