Stop the Hypocrisy, Unblock Cuba!
 
The United States government immediately played on the neighborhood protest actions on March 17, 2024 in the eastern part of Cuba to berate the socialist government for the deteriorating situation in its island neighbor while  hypocritically proclaiming its concern for the suffering Cuban people.
 
The Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba) and other keen observers of US-Cuba relations in the Philippines believe that the Cuban people could see through the US’s denial of any role in the protests and in the urging by its embassy in Havana for the Cuban government to “respect the human rights of the protesters and address the legitimate needs of the Cuban people.” After all, the US, along its goal to bring about “hunger, desperation, and overthrow of government,” has been seizing every opportunity to malign Cuba and worsen its problems.
 
Indeed, hundreds in Santiago de Cuba, the second biggest city of the country gathered to protest the 14‒18 hour-long power outages and the food shortage they have been experiencing.  These are among the problems affecting the entire country.  The Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban government have been seeking means to solve these and at the end of 2023, these bodies publicly admitted the severity of Cuba’s economic problems.  They have adopted additional and urgent measures to revitalize the economy.
 
It is hypocritical of the US to call on the Cuban government to respect the human rights of the protesters.  The more than 60 years of economic war being waged against Cuba, the policies of the US meant to strangle small island-country, especially the inclusion of Cuba in the list of countries supporting terrorism, make living conditions in Cuba almost unbearable. 
 
These US policies on Cuba continue to drive away investors that could otherwise help develop the Cuban economy, to prevent Cuba from opening bank accounts in the US’s sphere of influence,  to bar Cuba from engaging in considerable operations in trading and investments, and even from buying essential needs for hospitals, the educational system, infrastructure development, fuel, and the further development of its pharmaceutical industry.
 
The Cuban leadership does not put the blame solely on the economic war waged against Cuba for the economic trouble the nation has.  Those policies that constitute an economic blockade, however, are the biggest hindrance to Cuba’s growth.  The 60 years of the blockade are among the drivers of the protest. The American people should push the US government to repeal all these laws and orders that make an economic blockade.  Immediately, the US should remove Cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism. 
 
Let Cuba breathe! Unblock Cuba!
No to networking of social media agitators to subvert the Cuban government!
US’s campaign “to promote democracy in Cuba” is a campaign to destabilize Cuba!

More Triumphs for the Cuban Revolution
 
The Cuban Revolution is exemplary in its achievements in the 65 years since the downfall of the Batista dictatorship.

​The Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba) salutes the heroic Cuban people and finds inspiration in their firmness and will to carry on the building of a socialist system.
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At this day 8th of January of 1959. Fidel Castro, a host of other leaders of the nascent revolutionary government, a large contingent of the Cuban revolutionary army and other active members and supporters of the Movimiento Julio 26, in a caravan arrived in Havana amid the cheering of multitudes.
 
Days earlier, on January 1, Fidel Castro declared in the Cespedes Park in the City of Santiago de Cuba, the triumph of the revolution. On January 3, the first Revolutionary Council  of Ministers convened in  the provisional capital of the republic  after declaring the Congress dissolved and the appointments of provincial governors, mayors and councilors annulled.  On January 5, Prime Minister and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces began the transformation of political power to eradicate elements committed to the Batista dictatorship; created the Revolutionary National Police to safeguard order, discipline, and the economic interests of the Cuban state. Thus started a revolutionary process of profound transformation of Cuban society, fulfilling the commitments stated in the 1955 speech History Will Absolve Me.
 
As Fidel Castro had warned from day one, defending the gains of the revolution and building socialism have not been easy for Cuba.  In the first place, the new government did not have funds to start with as the deposed dictator had emptied the national treasury prior to fleeing to the Dominican Republic.
 
The Cuban people have been confronted with such big problems, some of these in the level of crises, such as the Playa Giron invasion; the downing by US-trained operatives of a commercial plane with almost the entire Cuban national football players on board; and, the burning, by US agents, of farms and the intentional spread of viruses to slaughter all pigs. These exacerbated the economic difficulties in the small island country that contends with the very limited source of water and minerals to support the populations’ needs.  
 
Cuba’s imperialist neighbor is not content with those ways of tormenting Cuba.  For more than 60 years now, it has imposed sanctions that it keeps on intensifying, amounting to a genocidal economic blockade that causes the biggest difficulty in the lives of the entire population.  
 
The Cubans have worked together to creatively overcome all hardships and frustrate the US imperialist objective to push the Cubans to clamor for regime change. Cuba still lacks a lot of things.  It is still poor but it is standing proud.  Not only does it defy the US’s orders, it has also grown strong and has been helping people in many countries. It has taught the rest of the world how to assert their sovereignty.  
 
Cuba will triumph against its oppressor!  Cuba merits support from peoples around the world!  (#)

Unending Reverence to the Heroes of Moncada;
Unflinching Support for Cuba’s Resolve to Resist the Blockade

The assault of 120 young Cubans against the island’s second biggest military fortress marking the start of the people’s rebellion against the Batista dictatorship happened 70 years ago on July 26. The heroism, however, of those inexperienced youth who were faced with utmost brutality of the state continues to reverberate among the people of Cuba, other parts of Hispano America and the whole world after decades of US’s cruel economic, commercial, and financial blockade aimed at pushing Cuba to its knees.

The Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba) and Philippine sympathizers of the Cuban people in struggle steadfastly salute the heroes of Moncada and unflinchingly support the call to end the economic sanctions against the island-state and remove Cuba from US’s list of states harboring terrorism.

A hundred and twenty young idealist Cubans, led by Fidel Castro, stormed the military barracks in Santiago in the province of Oriente to steer the soldiers and the people to rebel against the dictator Fulgencio Batista and establish a democratic and just social system. The events of this day that included the attempt to take the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes army garrison in Bayamo by a smaller number of persons and prevent a counter attack, resulted in the deaths of some of Fidel's comrades and the incarceration and trial of some, most notably of Fidel himself. The enigmatic young lawyer defended the Moncada rebellion in a speech that came to be called “History will absolve me.” This speech was printed and distributed widely, though clandestinely, in the entire country. The pressure for Batista to release Fidel and his comrades from prison mounted. After their release, Fidel and his comrades in the now named July 26 Movement, planned their moves better, established themselves in the Sierra Maestra Mountains from where they fought and rallied the Cuban people against the Batista dictatorship. On the 1st of January 1959, the revolution that the Moncada Attack commenced, triumphed.

Today, as the Cuban people fight US sanctions that have gotten crueler even during the Covid 19 pandemic, the lesson of Moncada that they should dare resist an unjust rule or dictate is one source of strength.

Despite its economic difficulties, Cuba has shown the world how the people benefit from a system which considers the welfare of the people its primary concern. It guarantees free education from preschool to tertiary, to the entire population. It continuously trains medical and health professionals and improves its health system that caters to the entire population all throughout their lives. It has a very low infant mortality rate, even lower than those in some rich countries.

Cuba has been collaborating with many countries especially in combating epidemics and in facing disasters. In the last six decades, more than 605,698 health professionals have served in 165 countries on five continents. Since Cuba’s Henry Reeve Medical Contingent was organized in 2005, 88 brigades have been sent to 56 countries with 13,467 collaborators, three brigades faced Ebola in West Africa with 265 collaborators and 58 brigades faced COVID-19 in 42 countries. It has trained thousands of medical doctors worldwide. It has advanced in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development.

Cuba has much to contribute for peoples’ development around the world but instead of supporting Cuba’s efforts, the US is tightening the sanctions, making it almost impossible for Cuba to procure primary materials for its pharmaceuticals, to sell its products, especially the medicines and inventions in biotechnology, and even to allow people to freely travel to Cuba to conduct business. President Trump’s decision towards the end of his term to include Cuba again in the list of countries supporting terrorism further strangulates Cuba. Very recently, the Biden Administration announced Its campaign against medical collaboration with Cuba and it allocated a million dollars for this.

PhilCuba calls on the Marcos government to resist pressures of the US to take its side on Cuba, instead, see how the Philippines and Cuba could learn from, and help, each other. We call on governments and peoples to make a stand against unilateral sanctions.

Stop the economic and political strangulation of Cuba!
Let Cuba thrive in the community of peoples, nations, and states!