By Sergio Martínez. Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Antigua and Barbuda
On March 21, the influential newspaper linked to the US Congress, “The Hill”, published an article referring to a report of more than 400 pages that the US State Department delivered to the US legislature, which contained the list of countless financial cuts carried out by the Trump Administration to vital health care programs that will have a devastating impact in lifesaving services — such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria prevention, along with maternal and baby health.
Ironically, that same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the so-called White House special envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mauricio Claver Carone, and congressmen of Cuban origin from Florida, appeared in the main press outlets in Miami assuring them that there was no need to worry about the cuts announced by the White House to USAID funds and other so-called foreign assistance programs.
This is because the millions of dollars allocated every year to try to subvert and defeat the Cuban Revolution were guaranteed, that is, the money that goes into the pockets of far-right groups, that for years have turned the genocidal policy of maximum pressure and hostility against the Cuban people into one of the most lucrative businesses in the United States, at the expense of American taxpayers.
The impudence and total disregard for human life know no bounds in the current US Administration, and especially among officials who execute its foreign policy, such as the Secretary of State and the White House Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean. They launch threats of all kinds of sanctions against governments that have sovereignly maintained collaboration agreements with Cuba for more than 20 years to provide vital medical services to the people of their respective countries.
In their obsessive attempt to isolate and cause cracks in Cuba’s historic relations of brotherhood and solidarity with countries of the so-called “global south,” and especially with the Caribbean, these governments are placed in the cruel dilemma of accepting Washington’s designs at the expense of affecting their people’s sacred right to health, or otherwise, facing the consequences of draconian punitive measures. Marco Rubio does not care that his measures could deprive millions of human beings around the world of basic health services currently provided by Cuban collaborators.
The Secretary of State should take advantage of his announced visit to the Caribbean to learn a little more about the history of struggle and rebellion of these countries to achieve their full independence and sovereignty against the colonial yoke, and to listen to the voices of their peoples who today rise up in defense of their sovereign right to continue and deepen the friendship and brotherhood ties with the noble Cuban people, and the support that Cuba provides through its medical brigades to the laudable efforts of their governments to develop a quality healthcare system accessible to the entire population.
In contrast with the policy of exporting threats, bombs, and sanctions promoted by Marco Rubio and the US government, Cuba will continue to export doctors and healthcare professionals to save human lives, not to destroy them.
