In a statement addressed to ICAP, the MBSC described Washington’s policy toward Cuba as a “real war” and asserted that the sanctions announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are part of a systematic campaign of persecution against the Caribbean nation.

The communication remembered words from the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, who—during the “Special Period”—maintained that US measures were neither an embargo nor a blockade, but rather a war and a “tenacious and constant” persecution.

According to the Brazilian organization, the sanctions against ICAP aim at intimidating solidarity efforts and humanitarian aid initiatives carried out worldwide in support of Cuba.

The MBSC further maintained that the persecution of Cuba has reached an intensity unprecedented since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, and it accuses the United States of using “pretexts and lies” to influence public opinion both domestically and in other nations.

It also stated that the Cuban government is responding to these actions with new initiatives, including the economic and social transformations presented last month, which comprise 176 measures organized into 23 thematic areas.

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