Caribbean foreign ministers have hurled stinging criticism against the US for threatening military action against Cuba as it continues its decades-old embargo starving it of fuel, food and other supplies. The condemnation followed a just-concluded meeting of the group in Suriname.
The unusually strongly worded statement suggested that Cuba poses no threat to any country around the world and deserves the right to procure fuel and other supplies for its people as it expressed alarm at American statements suggesting possible military action against the country.
And as in keeping with the trend in recent months, main US geopolitical partners in the region — “The Cooperative Republic of Guyana and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserve their positions on the foregoing statement,” meaning that they did not support the unusual forthrightness from the ministers. The two oil and gas-rich nations in the South Caribbean have been strident in their support of US military and other activities in the region in the past year.
The statement came hours after Jamaica’s main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) also lashed out at the Trump administration for issuing executive orders aimed at creating “severe hardship for the Cuban population,” including major disruption of its flagship health care systems.
Elaborating on their position, the foreign ministers expressed concern about the intensifying economic, commercial and financial measures being “imposed upon Cuba” noting that they “unequivocally” affirm “Cuba’s sovereign right to import and receive fuel, and condemns the obstruction of energy supplies to Cuba, which has precipitated a grave humanitarian crisis. Cuba poses no threat to any nation, that it stands as a peaceful and cooperative member of the international community, and that the continued application of these unilateral coercive measures constitutes an unjustifiable violation of human rights, the principles of free trade, and the fundamental norms governing relations among sovereign states.”
CARICOM’s latest position came weeks after leaders at their summit in St. Kitts in February had agreed to send a significant aid and humanitarian package to Cuba, with which the region has maintained decades of close relations. It is not clear if any shipments have been sent so far.
In fact, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados had, back in 1972, established diplomatic relations with Cuba, ending decades of isolation apart from neighbors like Mexico. Ties have remained strong ever since.
“The ministers said they reaffirmed the need for the preservation of the Caribbean as a zone of peace and expresses alarm at recent statements that suggest the possibility of military aggression against the Republic of Cuba; any such action would inflict unnecessary human suffering, impose grave material costs, and fundamentally destabilize the security architecture of the entire Caribbean region,” the statement noted.
