A tightened US blockade and its belligerent threats are hindering efforts to fulfill commitments to safeguarding cultural heritage, Cuba denounced on Wednesday during a UNESCO session in Geneva.
The Caribbean nation’s ambassador to UNESCO, María Carmen Herrera, stated that Cuba gives special priority to intangible heritage as an expression of sovereignty, national identity, and defense of the nation’s cultural wealth.
However, these efforts are being carried out under extraordinarily difficult circumstances due to the ironclad economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than six decades, the diplomat affirmed.
Herrera emphasized that in recent years this blockade has been reinforced to extreme levels, particularly following measures adopted in January and May 2026, aimed at completely blocking the country’s fuel supply and hindering Cuba’s economic, commercial, and financial ties with the world.
All of this is occurring within a context of the explicit threat of military aggression against the country, the ambassador added at the plenary session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The consequences directly impact the cultural sector, affecting the operation of cultural centers, museums, archives, research centers, and community spaces where traditional knowledge, techniques, and practices are transmitted.
This also hinders the acquisition of equipment, materials, and supplies essential for the documentation, research, preservation, and promotion of living heritage, the Caribbean diplomat stressed.
Furthermore, this imposes barriers to the development of international cooperation that this Convention promotes, she noted.
Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage requires vibrant communities, active spaces for transmission, and minimum material conditions to guarantee the continuity of their cultural expressions, she affirmed.
Herrera recalled that in 2024, “we celebrated the multinational inscription of the traditional knowledge and practices for the production and consumption of cassava bread, along with four other countries in our region.”
In December 2025, the Cuban Son tradition was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
