The main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) Monday urged Caribbean countries to provide a principled and compassionate response to the ongoing situation in Cuba as the country counters the latest actions of the United States that are fuelling a humanitarian crisis in that Caribbean country.
In a statement, the PNP said that as external pressures intensify and continue to adversely affect the daily lives and well-being of the Cuban people, it is both appropriate and necessary for the region to respond with understanding and solidarity.
The PNP said that Cuba has made immense contributions to the Caribbean and that it is deserving of support as it faces mounting humanitarian and economic challenges.
“Our shared history and regional bonds require that we act with empathy, fairness and respect for sovereignty,” the PNP said, noting the importance of regional and international engagement grounded in international law, non-interference and peaceful cooperation.
“The Caribbean has always upheld these fundamental principles, and at this time, CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and countries across the region and beyond must stand firmly in defence of them so that dialogue, stability and peaceful coexistence can prevail,” the PNP said.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said that economic reforms could offer the Cuban government a path to easing US pressure even as the Donald Trump administration’s oil blockade pushes the island deeper into crisis.
But Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who moved to the United States in 1956, declined to spell out specific conditions but suggested the regime must allow Cubans greater economic freedom , not just political reforms, if it wants relief from Washington’s tightening grip.
Last week, two Mexican ships bearing humanitarian aid docked in the harbour of Cuba’s capital Havana, with President Claudia Sheinbaum promising that more help was on the way.
The Mexican president insisted that maintaining Cuba’s sovereignty would be paramount among her priorities.
Since January, the Trump administration has sought to cut off the oil supplies that power Cuba’s energy grid and other critical infrastructure.
“Thousands of Jamaicans have benefited from Cuban medical missions, scholarships and technical cooperation, and this legacy of support must not be forgotten,” the PNP said, noting that as external pressures intensify and continue to adversely affect the daily lives and well-being of the Cuban people, it is both appropriate and necessary for the region to respond with understanding and solidarity. (CMC)
