The Rio de Janeiro Committee for Solidarity with Cuba and the Jose Marti Cultural Association of Rio de Janeiro (ACJM-RJ) expressed their support for recent statements by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on the matter, and called for the lifting of U.S. coercive measures.

In the Committee’s view, it is unacceptable for Washington to pressure and threaten other nations to vote against the resolution demanding an end to this unilateral siege.

According to the organization, such practices turn the threatened countries into potential accomplices to a policy that directly harms Cuban families and hinders the normal functioning of the Caribbean island’s economy.

“The blockade is a silent war, a genocide without explosions, a collective punishment against an entire people,” the Committee stated, denouncing the consequences of restrictions on access to fuel, medicine, and food.

Furthermore, the Committee rejected the U.S. government’s portrayal of Cuba as a threat, highlighting the contributions the Caribbean nation has made to Brazil through medical cooperation, adult literacy programs, and free university education for young Brazilians.

For its part, the ACJM-RJ noted in a statement that the pressure denounced by the head of Cuban diplomacy is intended to prevent other countries from supporting the resolution—which calls for an end to the blockade—at the UN General Assembly.

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