Roberto Payano, president of the Dominican Campaign of Solidarity with Cuba and coordinator of the delegation, stated that the participants value the opportunity to reiterate their support for the revolutionary process, along with representatives of social organizations and solidarity movements from throughout the region.

During the meeting, they will demand Cuba’s removal from the US list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, a measure criticized by solidarity movements in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The delegates will also visit Tuxpan, Veracruz, the port from which the historic yacht Granma set sail in 1956, and will pay tribute to Fidel Castro and the expedition members who landed at Playa Las Coloradas, beginning the struggle against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Payano emphasized that among the expeditionaries was Dominican Ramon Mejia del Castillo, known as “Pichirilo,” helmsman of the Granma and a symbol of brotherhood between the two peoples.

He remembered that the VIII Continental Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba was held in the Dominican Republic, with the participation of some 370 delegates from 25 countries, and was dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro.

The event in Santo Domingo concluded with the issuance of a Final Declaration and a Plan of Action, reaffirming the commitment to social justice, international solidarity, and the unity of peoples in the face of imperialist threats.

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