1768. Cuba Backs Venezuela in Conflict with U.S.

By Havana Times, March 17, 2015

The special ALBA summit Tuesday in Caracas. Photo: aporrea.org

Cuban president Raul Castro reiterated today in Caracas the “firm and irrevocable” solidarity of his government with Venezuela, faced with the sanctions adopted by Washington and the Obama administration’s declaring it a threat to US national security, reported dpa news.

Castro said Cuba will defend the position that to attend the Summit of the Americas in April in Panama, it rejects any “attempt to isolate and threaten Venezuela” and will demand “a definitive end of the blockade on Cuba.”

At the opening of the special summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) in Caracas today, Castro expressed support for Venezuela before the “interventionist action and threats of the US government.”

“The position of our country is invariable. I reiterate the strong solidarity of the Cuban revolution with the Bolivarian revolution, with President Nicolas Maduro and the civil-military union that it leads. I reiterate the absolute loyalty to the memory of Hugo Chavez, the best friend of the Cuban revolution,” he said.

“The facts show that history cannot be ignored. The US relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean have been marked by the Monroe doctrine and the principle of exercising dominion and hegemony over our nations,” Castro added.

Castro, whose government initiated a thaw in relations with Washington after 53 years, said that the intervention policy has been a “complete failure.”

He added that the United States seeks to destroy the “generous” Venezuelan assistance under the Petrocaribe energy alliance to threaten its “members and separate them from Venezuela.”

“They don’t seem to realize that our people have decided irrevocably to continue their unstoppable advance and battle for a multipolar world,” he claimed.

Castro said the “empire” has tried “unsuccessfully all forms of destabilization against the Bolivarian revolution to control the largest oil reserves” of the world and affect the independence process in the region.

He also described as an “aggressive executive order” US sanctions approved by Obama against seven Venezuelan officials accused of human rights violations and declaring Venezuela as a “threat” to US security.

“It shows that the United States can sacrifice peace and the direction of hemispheric relations for reasons of domination. It is groundless that a supportive country like Venezuela, which has never attacked a neighbor, may pose a threat to the world’s most powerful nation, “he said.

Castro added that Cuba supports the position of Maduro, who despite the seriousness of the situation has extended his hand to President Obama to initiate a dialogue “based on international law and mutual respect that will lead to the repeal of the presidential executive order and a normalization of relations.”

“Today Venezuela is not alone. We will not tolerate the violation of its sovereignty and affecting peace in the region. The threat to peace and stability in Venezuela represents a threat to regional peace and stability.”

The United States should understand “once and for all that it is impossible to seduce Cuba and intimidate Venezuela, since our unity is indestructible,” noted Raul Castro.

“We will not tolerate any interference or conditioning of internal affairs. We will not relent in the just causes of South America, nor leave alone our brothers fighting in Venezuela… Our principles are not negotiable,” said the Cuban president.