Carrying flags and signs, and chanting slogans of solidarity with the Caribbean nation, participants in the demonstration outside the Palazzo Montecitorio urged the administration led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to keep Italy’s long-standing position opposing this policy—despite reported pressure from Washington to change its vote.
Marco Papaci, president of the Italy-Cuba National Friendship Association (ANAIC), noted that the drive brought together friends of the island—both Italians and people from other nations—to call on the government not to turn its back on the Cuban people, regardless of threats and pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump.
Speaking to Prensa Latina (PL), Papaci highlighted the historic cultural, political, and friendly ties between the two countries, and Cuba’s aid during they pandemic and today in they region of Calabria.
Stefano de Angelis, a member of the International Relations Department of the *Unione Sindacale di Base* (USB) labor union, also emphasized the need for the Italian government to take an unequivocal stance against the economic blockade.
Meanwhile, Giulia Calo, a young member of the organization *Potere al Popolo* (Power to the People), argued that the island poses no threat to the United States—or any other nation—and called for the defense of the Cuban model against policies that, in her view, boost war and harm the working class.
In another statement to PL, Alessandro Perri, of the Network of Communists, asserted that the gathering aims to pressure the Italian government to respect the self-determination of the Cuban people and to recognize their efforts on behalf of other peoples.
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