The leaders of Mexico, Brazil and Spain have pledged more aid to Cuba while appealing for the island nation’s sovereignty to be respected amid a pressure campaign from US President Donald Trump.
The joint statement was issued Saturday as left-wing leaders from around the world met in Barcelona.
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The three countries expressed “grave concern at the serious humanitarian crisis being experienced by the Cuban people.”
The United States has imposed an embargo on Cuba since Cold War tensions escalated in the 1960s.
However, the Trump administration has gradually increased pressure on the island’s communist government in an effort to force a change in leadership.
President Trump has banned oil imports from Venezuela since January. He also threatened sanctions if other countries supplied Cuba with oil, causing fuel shortages or energy blackouts.
The campaign against the Cuban government follows similar pressure tactics against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was abducted and imprisoned in a U.S. military operation on January 3.
Meanwhile, President Trump has threatened to dismiss Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
In a statement on Saturday, the governments of Mexico, Spain and Brazil (represented by President Claudia Sheinbaum, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, respectively) warned against any actions “contrary to international law.”
“We are committed to coordinating a strengthened humanitarian response aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Cuban people,” the three said.
The statement did not mention the United States directly, but called for respect for “territorial integrity, sovereign equality and the peaceful resolution of disputes” as outlined in the United Nations Charter.
The three countries further said that any solution in Cuba must “guarantee that it is the Cuban people themselves who decide their future in full freedom.”
President Trump says Cuba could be next
Earlier this week, President Trump once again hinted at the possibility of the United States using military force against Cuba, saying that after the end of the war with Iran, attention may shift to Cuba.
“I might stop in Cuba when this is over,” he said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly denied that U.S. policy is contributing to the humanitarian situation in Cuba, instead casting the crisis as the product of decades of economic mismanagement.
Meanwhile, Díaz-Canel struck a defiant tone Thursday, speaking at a rally commemorating the 65th anniversary of President Fidel Castro’s declaration on the socialist nature of the Cuban revolution.
“These are extremely difficult times, which require us once again to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression, as we did on April 16, 1961,” Diaz-Canel said.
“We don’t want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it is unavoidable, to defeat it.”
President Trump sets his sights on Spain
Saturday’s joint statement was issued as leaders gathered in Barcelona to draw a united front in support of multilateralism, which President Trump has long denounced.
Spain’s Sanchez, an outspoken critic of President Trump, slammed right-wing populism without mentioning the president by name.
“They know that their vision of how the world should be ordered is being shattered by tariffs and war,” he says. “Their biggest mistake would be for them to embrace climate change denial, xenophobia or sexism.”
“They have tried to shame us for our beliefs over and over again. That is over. Now they may be the ones to shame us.”
Meanwhile, Trump criticized Sanchez in a post on Truth Social. The president has repeatedly criticized Spain for not allowing U.S. military bases to be used in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and for not increasing defense spending.
“Has anyone seen how badly the country of Spain is doing? It contributes almost nothing to NATO and military defense, yet its fiscal numbers are absolutely terrible. Sad to see!!!” Trump wrote.
