The slogan “Cuba is not a threat; the blockade is” took center stage in the denunciations voiced by ECRE delegates. The forum focused on the fight against this siege, ways to provide solidarity-based aid, and how to contribute to the island’s economy.

At the event’s conclusion, Ana Teresita Gonzalez Fraga—Director General of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Residing Abroad (DACRE) at the Cuban Foreign Ministry—denounced the United States for intensifying its economic and energy-related strangulation of the island.

VIn the face of this policy, she highlighted the role of the Cuban community abroad in countering its effects through public advocacy, acts of solidarity, and the shipment of containers filled with medical equipment and supplies, food, clothing, furniture, and solar panels—the latter being installed in healthcare and social service centers.

The official emphasized that the involvement of Cubans living abroad can also expand through their participation in the country’s economic transformations, which acknowledge their contribution to national development.

She explained that a new phase is opening for those wishing to contribute capital, knowledge, expertise, and entrepreneurial capacity, while new immigration and residency laws aim to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and strengthen ties between Cuba and its citizens abroad.

Furthermore, she invited the Cuban community abroad to participate on November 24 in a hybrid forum—scheduled during the Havana International Fair—designed to explore opportunities for collaboration with the island.

The director of DACRE called for maintaining unity and rejecting smear campaigns that seek to weaken the ties between Cuba and its citizens living abroad.

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