The event, held at the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Cultural Center, was attended by friends in solidarity, Cuban residents, accredited Cuban diplomatic staff, and prominent figures from Colombia’s cultural and political spheres.

  One of the first speakers, the Ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Mohamed Ali Ali

Salem, remembered that many of his compatriots owe their academic training to Cuba; he also read an original poem dedicated to Fidel Castro during the year marking the centenary of his birth.

  Congressman Gabriel Becerra also took the floor, addressing the need to delve deeper into Fidel’s ideology at a time when “the far-right and neo-fascism seek to spread across the world, and particularly throughout our Americas.”

  Fidel Castro’s legacy was also extolled by Ebelinton Altamar, a Colombian doctor who graduated in Cuba.

  Alejandro Martinez, president of the Association of Cubans Residing in Colombia, highlighted Fidel’s legacy and emphasized that only the unity of his compatriots could halt the United States’ drive for conquest—a drive that subjects Cuba to “the most atrocious and longest-lasting blockade in history.”

  Meanwhile, Jaime Caicedo, president of the Colombian Communist Party, thanked Cuba for its contributions to peace in Colombia and condemned the blockade imposed by the United States.

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