Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the closing of the International Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, at the Convention Palace, on May 2, 2026, “Year of the Centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.”
(Stenographic Versions – Presidency of the Republic)
Dear sisters and brothers in solidarity with Cuba and with the just causes of the world;
Friends visiting us from different parts of the world:
Solidarity cannot be blocked. Long live solidarity! (Exclamations of: “Long live!”)
One of the first things we must acknowledge, which stems from the feelings and emotions of Cubans when we have these kinds of encounters, when we have the opportunity to share with those who visit us, giving us love, affection, friendship, and offering solidarity, is gratitude for all that you do for us and recognition of the courage and resolve with which you express yourselves, because we know that to be present in Cuba and with Cuba in these times requires courage. (Applause)
Many of you say that you are moved when you come to Cuba. We are also moved when you come to Cuba and when you express these affections and this solidarity to us.
I believe we can share solidarity, we can share ideals, we believe that a better world is possible, as Fidel taught us, precisely because we are recognizing that there can be another model, another possibility for those of us who inhabit this disordered and chaotic world. This is achieved when a cause is defended, when a model is defended that is based on social justice and that puts people before the market and against profit.
When it is said that we are an extraordinary and unusual threat to the United States—and we are certain that this is not the sentiment of the American people, but rather the pretext used by the U.S. government to attack us—one wonders: What is the threat? What is extraordinary about this threat? What is unusual about this threat, when Cuba is a country of peace, when Cuba has served as the setting for the main peace talks in the Latin American and Caribbean region, when Cuba was the place where the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church came together to resolve the schism they had maintained for more than fifteen hundred years?
I try to answer that question every day, but, as Bruno explains, there is no pretext whatsoever, no reason whatsoever that justifies military aggression against Cuba. Well, perhaps this “extraordinary and unusual threat” is an example of the Cuban people’s resilience and creativity (Applause).
When we talk about solidarity, I think we are talking about three elements that distinguish the value of international solidarity:
One is the tenderness of peoples, because together we have learned to share something that Fidel taught us: that we don’t give what we have in excess, but rather we give what we have to share with everyone.
The other value is that solidarity constitutes a strategic rearguard because it supports what we are doing, it supports the struggles of those of us who are seeking to confront genocidal aggressions like the one imposed by the United States government against Cuba, and every donation, every international mobilization, each of those acts that you carry out in different cities around the world is a breath of fresh air that you give us in the face of the economic blockade, and it is also a light that illuminates the Cuban nation and people.
A third value of solidarity, which we all share, is that it is an expression of resistance against exclusion. It is an active denunciation of the aggression carried out by the United States government against Cuba, it is an active denunciation of the inclusion of Cuba on a list of countries that supposedly support terrorism.
The vehemence, the courage, the determination, and the commitment with which you defend the Cuban people, through solidarity, demonstrate to us and assure us that Cuba is not alone and that Cuba will never be alone as long as there are people like you in our world. (Applause)
I believe that yesterday we all witnessed a magnificent demonstration of heroism, resolve, determination, conviction, activism, and fighting spirit on the part of the Cuban people.
Yesterday, the Cuban people achieved two victories for our times: first, obtaining over 80% of the signatures of the Cuban working population over 17 years of age in support of the Cuban Revolution; against the intensified blockade, against the energy blockade, and against the threat of military aggression against Cuba. And it was a signature for the homeland, for the Revolution, and for socialism (Applause).
And the other victory was that magnificent demonstration of support for the Revolution, when the people marched en masse not only in Havana—you all witnessed the magnitude of that parade in Havana—but in every city across the country. What was the number of participants? More than 5 million were in the streets yesterday defending Cuba (Applause).
And this was no ordinary May Day. As many of you have said, this was May Day in the Centennial Year of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz (Applause and shouts of: “Long live Fidel!”)
And we can all share the conviction that our people, the Cuban people, and you, the solidarity-minded friends of that people, who are also part of this homeland and this people, paid the best possible tribute to the Commander-in-Chief in the Year of his Centennial on that May Day (Applause).
I believe it was a response from the people that made it very clear that in Cuba, the homeland is defended! (Applause and shouts of: “The homeland is defended!”)
Someone asked me yesterday what was so extraordinary about this May Day. Well, it has to do with that commitment to the Commander-in-Chief, with the situation we are experiencing, with what we went to express on that May Day. But I believe there is a very singular fact that you haven’t overlooked, and that is that new generations in Cuba yesterday raised our historic banners.
The enemies of the Revolution have spent millions trying to prevent Cuban youth from continuing the work of the Revolution. The enemies of the Revolution predicted that there would be no popular support and that this would be a parade or demonstration with little public participation, and, as they say in Cuba: they were proven wrong. And the young people came out to defend the Revolution. But Cuban youth came out to defend the Revolution, as part of that people, with the conviction that they are the youth of the Centennial of the Commander-in-Chief (Applause).
Therefore, yesterday we did not witness a march that “is a march despite the complex economic situation our country faces, as part of the tightening of the blockade.” Not at all! Yesterday was a march of a combative people, a people determined against everything that affects daily life and the economy of our country. It was the combative speech of a dignified, brave, and determined people who declared loud and clear that they have every right to choose their political system, to defend their political system, to live and to develop. And that is why that people, together with you, exclaimed yesterday: No to the blockade! (Applause.) And as we have always said: Let them lift the blockade so we can see what we can do!
Let’s talk a little about the world. I believe you have accurately characterized the problems we face today. There is undoubtedly a crisis of capitalism, a multidimensional crisis of capitalism, and an imperial crisis within the United States government as well.
There are other countries that, from the perspective of multilateralism, offer alternative possibilities for the peoples and nations of the Global South. An increasing number of voices are being raised against imperial abuses.
The key representatives of the United States government are also experiencing a crisis of credibility among the American people.
When capitalism and imperialism are in crisis, that is when the most ultraconservative, far-right ideas resurface. That is why fascism is resurging at this time; and the current United States government is a fascist government (Applause). That is why genocidal acts are committed around the world, such as the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people, the genocide being committed against the people of Lebanon; or why aggression and the language of war are used to resolve international conflicts.
And we are witnessing an ideological war, a cultural war, and a media war.
Why is this war that the empire is trying to impose ideological? Because they are trying to impose their hegemonic ideas on the basis of domination. They want to dominate the world, they want to dominate us all, they want to dominate our people, they want to dominate our nations.
Why is it a cultural war? Because to do so, they have to appropriate and dominate our minds, and that is why they try to make our people break with their roots, with their identity, with their culture. That is why they attack the culture and history of our people.
And it is also a media war, because they use that entire network of digital platforms and media outlets to promote supremacist values, xenophobia; to assassinate the reputations of nations and leaders; to impose Western culture. To denigrate peoples and revolutionary processes, they do so through perversity, using slander, lies, and fake news, weaving media narratives so that the repetition of lies and the fabricated story become a truth accepted by many around the world. Look, this is how they have acted recently.
What was done against Venezuela? They began constructing a media narrative of a narco-state; they tried to politically and media-ly lynch the legitimate president of the Bolivarian Revolution, Nicolás Maduro. Then they imposed a naval blockade on Venezuela, establishing the largest US military presence in the Caribbean in the last twenty years.
As part of this narrative, they have justified extrajudicial killings of vessels whose involvement in drug trafficking has never been proven, nor has it ever been established whether those on board were involved in drug trafficking.
And once they had created all the conditions with that media barrage, they attacked the Venezuelan nation, kidnapping and extracting a legitimate president and his wife to subject them to a sham trial in the United States. It’s remarkable how the Cartel of the Suns vanished immediately after Maduro’s kidnapping, how the lie they had constructed disappeared, but the consequences were already there.
Thus, they wove the narrative that Iran was developing a nuclear energy program to acquire a nuclear bomb and that it was a threat to the entire world.
We have been witnessing the war in Iran for several weeks now, witnessing the heroic resistance of the Iranian people (Applause). And what we haven’t seen yet is an Iranian nuclear bomb, nor a threat from Iran to use nuclear weapons. Who is talking about using a nuclear bomb? The United States government.
And then there’s the case of Cuba as well. They have launched a massive campaign claiming that we are an unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States, that we violate human rights, that we are a failed state, that we are in economic collapse, and that they are very concerned about the plight of the Cuban people, which is completely ironic and a fallacy. If they are so concerned, they should lift the embargo, because the main problems of the Cuban people are related to the imposition of that embargo for so long.
As part of this campaign against Cuba, they have also exerted pressure on the governments of a group of countries, pressuring their leaders to sever the medical collaboration that Cuba offers in solidarity.
In regional meetings, the United States government has tried to “charm” some leaders of Latin American countries, and some have offered as a gift the severing of relations with Cuba or the limitation of diplomatic relations with Cuba. And others, with tremendous cynicism and a lack of dignity, currying favor with the emperor, have asked him: “When are you going to resolve the issue of Cuba?”
Then, in the midst of that situation, when Venezuela began to be blockaded from an energy standpoint in December, Cuba began to stop receiving oil. We’re talking about December. Then, in January, came the Executive Order of January 29th; therefore, we went four months without receiving fuel until a fuel ship arrived from Russia, which allowed us, in the last two weeks, to improve the country’s electricity situation; but that oil is now running out, and we don’t know when more fuel will arrive in Cuba.
And, as if that weren’t enough, they appeared yesterday as a May Day gift—it seems May Day bothered them! As they say here, it seems the enormous show of resolve by the Cuban people stung them—and issued another Executive Order titled “Imposition of Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy.” They used the same pretext as the previous Executive Order.
This is a measure—and Bruno explained it in more detail than I will—structured around three fundamental pillars designed to collapse the Cuban economy and force what they aspire to as regime change.
First, it imposes expanded sectoral sanctions, blocking any U.S. property of individuals or entities operating in the island’s energy, defense, mining, and financial services sectors—note which sectors they chose.
Therefore, they are attacking our vital sources of income, which have already been attacked and disrupted for over sixty years by the blockade; then by the intensified blockade starting in the second half of 2019, when Trump implemented 240 measures to tighten the blockade; in January 2020, when they included us on the list of countries that supposedly support terrorism; and then how all these measures have been maintained throughout this time, first by the Biden administration, then by the second term of the Trump administration, and now intensified with the energy blockade and again with this Executive Order.
The second fundamental aspect of this measure is that it establishes a global financial persecution by threatening banks in third countries with cutting off their access to the U.S. financial system if they conduct transactions with Cuban entities. Note the level of internationalization they have given to this measure, which further intensifies the blockade against Cuba.
And third, it decrees the immediate application of sanctions, eliminating any period for prior modification and thus denying the possibility of a timely legal recourse.
Simply put, brothers and sisters, from the perspective of international relations, this Executive Order is a case of direct and unilateral interference by the United States; it is an unacceptable act of meddling in the internal affairs of another nation. It is a clear attempt to impose a political model through economic coercion, using domestic law to dictate the policies of other nations to the detriment of multilateralism.
This policy not only seeks “regime change,” but also constitutes an act of regional destabilization, forcing the international community into an impossible choice between its relationship with Cuba and access to the United States market and financial system. The world either chooses to participate in the United States financial and economic system or it chooses Cuba.
And I ask: How long will the world tolerate this abuse? How long will the world stand idly by while innocent children and innocent people are killed, as in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran? How long will the world tolerate this policy of maximum pressure by the United States against the heroic Cuban people? Because the world must be aware that what is done against Cuba, what is done against Palestine, what is done against Iran, will later be done to anyone (Applause).
And that is why we say with a full sense of responsibility, and someone here said it, that whoever stands with Cuba now stands for all time, because in Cuba the dignity of peoples is being defended (Applause).
In Cuba, the sovereignty and independence of peoples are being defended. In Cuba, the right to self-determination of peoples is being defended (Applause). And in Cuba, the conviction that a just cause defended by a heroic people is not abandoned is being defended. Therefore, let no one expect that there will be surrender in Cuba! (Applause and shouts of: “Cuba is not alone! Cuba is not alone! Cuba is not alone! Cuba is not alone!”)
All these contextual elements that we are sharing with you have undoubtedly complicated our situation. And as you have experienced, as you have shared with the Cuban people, today we are experiencing many limitations, in addition to those we were already facing. We must ask ourselves how a country’s economy can be sustained, how a country’s services can be maintained when it is denied fuel.
We are facing, as a country, as a people, a multidimensional aggression from the most powerful nation in the world.
And here the problem is an accumulated effect, because there are analyses being done and discussions about Cuba’s current situation. No, no, Cuba’s situation is the accumulation of problems from more than sixty years of blockade, a blockade that intensified starting in 2019, the effects of COVID-19, and the blockade now further intensified by these two executive orders.
This is a collective punishment they want to impose on us, a total suffocation they want to impose on us, to bring about a social explosion and a regime change. But Cuba is not standing idly by. (Exclamations of: “They won’t succeed!”)
They won’t succeed, they won’t succeed! (Applause.)
We are not standing idly by. Ever since the country’s leadership analyzed that Trump could win the election and be accompanied by the others who make up his administration, we knew that a greater threat loomed over Cuba, and we worked on a whole set of ideas, a whole set of plans, a whole set of programs that now, with even more reason, we have ratified, refined, updated, and are developing.
Faced with this multidimensional aggression, we have established three fundamental priorities, and we want to share them with you so that you are aware of and have all the arguments regarding what Cuba is doing.
First, there is the imminence of military aggression. And that is not something we want or desire. Cuba is a country of peace. Cuba defends peace. But the United States government speaks of war every day, and every day speaks of threats, and every day the rhetoric of threats against Cuba escalates; but the Cuban people are not afraid (Applause).
And do you know why they are not afraid? Because when one assumes that one is willing to give one’s life for a just cause, which in this case is being willing to give one’s life for our Revolution, being willing to fight to the very end for our Revolution, and when there are many of us in this country who are willing to do that, there can be no fear. You have made the decision to commit your life to the very end, and the fear is over. And that was demonstrated yesterday by the people with their signatures and their participation (Applause).
But they demonstrated this with tremendous heroism, an example for our times, the 32 Cuban combatants who fell in Venezuela (Applause and shouts of: “Cuba and Venezuela, one flag!”).
Those Cuban combatants faced elite forces of the U.S. Army that outnumbered and outgunned them technologically. The U.S. government and its military had conceived that the operation to kidnap the President of Venezuela would be carried out in minutes, and things got complicated when our brave combatants faced that elite U.S. force and fought for more than 45 minutes under those conditions (Applause).
Imagine what would happen in a military aggression against Cuba, where the example of those 32 would be multiplied by millions of Cubans (Applause). And we say this with all due responsibility; we are not speaking this way because we want war. We don’t want war! We have always maintained that bilateral differences with the United States government can be resolved through dialogue; but there must be a willingness, a seriousness to find areas of cooperation that allow us to understand each other and move away from confrontation. But I also reiterate here what we have said on other occasions: we are not afraid of war. And there will be neither surprises nor defeat! (Applause.)
And that is why, as our top priority, we have spent the last few months developing a plan to increase the preparedness and readiness for defense in the interest of our entire people.
Our defense strategy is entirely defensive; it is not intended to attack anyone. It stems from our country’s guerrilla experience, from the experience of our struggles, how the Mambises fought, how the rebels fought in the Sierra Maestra; from the combat experiences we had when we went to Africa to contribute modestly to the liberation of African countries and to eliminate apartheid in South Africa. It stems from our convictions.
It was a doctrine developed by Fidel, enriched by the Army General, which emerged at another complex moment like this one, when the administration then in power in the United States had also raised the possibility of a direct attack against Cuba. And in that defensive doctrine, every Cuban man and woman has a rifle, every Cuban man and woman has a position in the defense, and has a mission to fulfill in defense of the homeland, the revolution, and socialism (Applause).
So, the second priority has to do with the fact that they want to suffocate us, they want to suffocate us economically. Well, we discussed with the people at the end of last year, in December, and in the first weeks of January of this year, we all discussed at the grassroots level a Government Program for economic and social development under the current conditions. Therefore, all our people gave their opinions, criticized, and proposed, and at the end of this entire popular consultation process, a more robust economic and social development program has been achieved, precisely because it was enriched by that popular participation. It outlines a whole series of transformations that must be made to our Economic and Social Model, and which we must also carry out swiftly, without bureaucracy, and with the utmost diligence.
I would say that, although there are several aspects, we could group them into three fundamental pillars: Economic transformation, which has to do with how we achieve macroeconomic stabilization, how we boost national production, and how we achieve higher levels of exports.
It has another pillar, which is sovereignty and sustainability, and there we consider two fundamental programs: the food production program to achieve sovereignty.
It has another focus, which is sovereignty and sustainability, and there we have two fundamental programs: the food production program to achieve the country’s food sovereignty, being aware that we will eat not what we import, but what we are capable of producing in the country.
And you might say to me: “But are you crazy? Now that you have less fuel, less in the way of things, how are you going to achieve food sovereignty?” Well, with the effort and talent of Cubans, all of us working with the understanding that we will eat what we are capable of producing, applying agroecology (Applause). And given the lack of products and fertilizers, we are applying agroecology and developing an agricultural development program, a food production program, that is more environmentally friendly, that is sustainable under our conditions.
And the other important program, also for the country’s energy sustainability, is the energy program, which has as a pillar a profound transformation of the country’s energy matrix, which we began last year. Last year, we were able to invest over a thousand megawatts in photovoltaic parks, which allowed us to jump, in just one year, from 3% penetration of electricity generation from renewable energy sources to 10%; that is, we grew by 7% that year.
We are striving, despite the adversity, to achieve similar growth this year as well, in a program where by 2050 we can be energy self-sufficient, using our own resources. They can’t block our sun, they can’t block Cuba’s air currents (Applause), they can’t block our ocean currents, they can’t block our rivers. We are using biogas, promoting the use of biogas, the use of biomass.
Our Brazilian friends have strongly urged us to explore the topic of biofuels, and we are also analyzing that.
As you know, when there was a taboo surrounding the idea that Cuban crude oil couldn’t be refined, our scientists have found the answer, and we now have the technology developed in Cuba to refine Cuban crude and produce the necessary derivatives. Now, what do we need to do? Increase the production of this domestic crude oil so that we have enough not only for electricity generation but also to meet the fuel and refined product needs of the economy.
Of course, all these processes will take a long time because this can’t be resolved overnight amidst these adverse conditions and increasingly harsh coercive measures.
And the third strategic pillar is that everything we do must be done without resorting to shock tactics. It is with social justice, and every measure we have to implement to overcome this situation must first consider who might be disadvantaged, to prevent inequalities from growing and, on the contrary, to mitigate existing inequalities, ensuring that each person, family, or community in vulnerable situations receives a differentiated response to prevent their vulnerability from increasing. And that is social justice, and that is socialism, and that is what we defend in Cuba.
Therefore, I believe and dream, and we all dream, because remember that in Cuba, due to this policy of maximum pressure and the blockade applied for so many years, regardless of how great the work of the Revolution is, we haven’t been able to realize all our dreams. We have unfulfilled dreams, we have unfinished projects. Some programs for the country’s economic development and their social impact have also been stalled. But we continue to dream and we continue to act, we continue to fight and we continue to work, and we continue to achieve even in the most difficult circumstances.
And we leave these arguments because we believe that one of the fundamental roles that solidarity can play, that you can play, is the mobilization of public opinion in a situation like this, above all, because of the contribution you can make in persuading and spreading the truth about Cuba at a time of fierce media siege, manipulation, lies, and economic coercion, and also in the face of the danger of military aggression.
Working in this way in difficult times, how does one see the future of Cuba? We will have a future with a country illuminated using our own energy sources; but we will have a country illuminated, but without waste (Applause).
We will have a more productive and efficient Cuba (Applause).
And we will continue to have a just Cuba, with opportunities and possibilities for all (Applause).
We will continue to offer solidarity; we will continue to support the just causes of the world; we will continue to support the Palestinian cause, the cause of the Lebanese people, the Bolivarian Revolution, the release of President Maduro and his wife Cilia (Applause), the cause of the Sahrawi people, the cause of Puerto Rico (Applause), the cause of the Iranian people (Applause).
We will be supporting the cause of those who participated in the Gaza flotilla (Applause), those who have supported Cuba with the humanitarian aid convoys (Applause).
And we will be fighting alongside you for the release of Thiago and any other comrade, militant, or combatant who is unjustly imprisoned. (Applause)
We firmly believe that the true strength of a nation lies in its people, in its citizens, and in the workers who build a dignified future. Today, that strength in our country is multiplied thanks to you, demonstrating that international solidarity is the most powerful weapon against global selfishness. The heroism, resilience, creativity, dignity, and history of the Cuban people, together with you and your solidarity, will bring us victory. And of that, we have no doubt! (Applause)
But when you give us so much solidarity, you also place an enormous responsibility upon us, because we know we cannot let you down. Therefore, be assured that the Cuban people are committed to continuing to be a beacon of hope in the Caribbean for all those around the world who want a better world. We will not fail you, because to fail you would be to fail the hope of all the humble people of this planet.
Long live peace! (Exclamations of: “Long live!”)
Down with war! (Exclamations of: “Down with!”)
Down with the blockade! (Exclamations of: “Down with!”)
Long live the workers of the world! (Exclamations of: “Long live!”)
Long live internationalist solidarity! (Exclamations of: “Long live!”)
Cuba is not alone! (Exclamations of: “Cuba is not alone!”)
Ever onward to victory! (Applause.)
IMAGE CREDIT: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PCC and President of the Republic. Photo: Estudios Revolución.
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
