Written by journalist Factor Mendez and published in the local newspaper La Hora, the column first emphasized the Cuban authorities’ willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States on any issue, without pressure, on equal footing, and with respect for sovereignty.

It remembered that US President Donald Trump, after the events in Venezuela on January 3, issued threats to other Latin American governments, specifically mentioning Nicaragua, Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico.

He warned that they could also be invaded and referred to them disparagingly, although he later softened his stance on some of them—typical behavior from the imperial president who frequently changes his mind, the column added.

Following the month-long kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros and his wife Cilia Flores, he noted, “Mr. Trump signed an executive order imposing a total blockade on fuel supplies to Cuba.”

Furthermore, he emphasized, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on third countries that trade oil with the Caribbean nation, which constitutes “another violation of international law, the UN Charter, and the broad catalog of universal human rights.”

This imperialistic measure, he stressed, sparked outrage among world leaders, solidarity organizations, blocs of nations, and international figures who issued statements, communiques, and messages of solidarity with the people and government of Cuba.

jdt/ro/znc