The non-governmental organization expresses its firm solidarity with the Cuban people and government, following reports from the Cuban Foreign Ministry regarding Washington’s military operation against the Venezuelan vessel on December 10.

This action, described as piracy and a violation of international maritime law, is part of a broader strategy aimed at obstructing Venezuela’s sovereign right to trade its natural resources and intensifying the economic pressure imposed on Cuba.

Such measures have deepened the impact of the long-standing US blockade on the national power grid and the daily lives of Cubans.

As a nation that has suffered the devastating effects of unilateral coercive measures, Zimbabwe stands in solidarity with Havana and Caracas, rejecting the use of economic strangulation, extraterritorial coercion, or military intimidation as tools in international relations.

We reiterate that the sovereignty of large or small nations must be respected, and the commitment of the Caribbean and Latin America to peace, expressed in the regional declaration as a Zone of Peace, must be defended, the statement indicated.

The ZAST calls on the international community, multilateral institutions, and progressive movements worldwide to denounce all actions that undermine international law, threaten regional stability, or violate the right of nations to trade peacefully.

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