02/12/2026
Statement by Trinidad and Tobago Civil Society Organisations, Social Movements and Political Movements
We Demand that the US End its Illegal Blockade of Cuba Now!
We, the below signed civil society organisations, have consistently expressed our solidarity with our Caribbean sisters and brothers in Cuba and with the Government of Cuba and have denounced the illegal, illegitimate and criminal economic, financial and commercial blockade of Cuba by the United States. We have also demanded that the US remove Cuba from the so-called list of countries that are engaged in the state sponsoring of terrorism as there is absolutely no evidence to support this designation. The US cites the fact that Cuba engaged with representatives of organisations that participated in armed struggle against the Colombian government when, in fact, all Cuba was doing was to facilitate negotiations of peace agreements between these organisations and the government of Colombia! So, for pursuing peace in Colombia, the Cuban people are being punished on the basis of a lie!
In this regard we do not stand alone as every CARICOM government has adopted this very position. Indeed in December 1972, the four then newly independent nations of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago established diplomatic relations with Cuba in the face of US aggression against Cuba. Almost every member state of the United Nations has called for the end of the blockade as evidenced by the vote at the United Nations General Assembly on the Resolution brought by Cuba demanding that the US end its blockade. Of the more than 190 members states, for the past ten or more years only the US and Israel routinely support the blockade.
The blockade, first imposed in 1962, was strengthened and the impacts on the Cuban people intensified over the years with successive legislative measures: the Toricelli Act in 1992, the Helms-Burton Act in 1996 and the various Executive Orders, especially under the Trump presidency – during both its first and now its second term. These unilateral coercive measures, including the false designation of Cuba as a country engaged in state sponsorship of terrorism, have one specific objective and one only. This is explicitly articulated in the 1960 Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Lester Mallory “The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support (from the government) is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship (…) every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life (…) denying money and supplies to Cuba to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government”.
Today, under Trump and Rubio, US imperialism is attempting to completely strangle Cuba in order to achieve this objective – the overthrow of the government. This strategy of regime change is a total violation of international law, the United Nations Charter and the annual decisions of the General Assembly and an unabashed attack on the human rights of the Cuban people. The US is causing – and has caused for years – the Cuban people to suffer from the shortage of food, medicines and other essential requirements for their daily life. As a result, tens of thousands of Cubans have died as they did not have access to vitally needed medicines. So inhumane is US imperialism that during the Covid pandemic it refused to allow syringes to be sent to Cuba which were urgently needed to vaccinate its citizens against the virus!
This illegal, illegitimate and criminal blockade and the other coercive measures amount to collective punishment of the Cuban people. This is a total violation of international law. We cite the Report on the website of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights: “the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Prof. Alena Douhan, visited Cuba from 11 to 21 November 2025. The purpose of the visit was to assess the impact of the U.S unilateral sanctions on the enjoyment of human rights by people living in Cuba and any other affected people” (view the entire report here - https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/statements/20251121-eom-stm-cuba-sr-negative-impact-unilateral-en.pdf). In her very detailed Report, the Special Rapporteur stated inter alia:
“The above measures have prevented Cuba from having resources to develop and maintain essential infrastructure including hospitals, schools, housing, transportation, electricity and water supply, civil aviation and many others, and to maintain the necessary level of readiness to respond to natural disasters. It resulted in the reduction of social support programs and prevented implementation of academic, cultural, sport and development projects, affecting thus the right to food, freedom from poverty, right to a decent life, right to health, economic, social and cultural rights, right to development, as well as the achievement of relevant Sustainable development goals. (our emphasis)
“I urge the United States to stop using the rhetoric of sanctions, maximum pressure campaigns, designation of SSOT or claims on the use of forced labour as a political instrument and a means to get economic advantages, to cut Cuba off the international cooperation, international financial system or economic resources, and to engage in a dialogue to settle disputes in accordance with principles and norms of international law, bilaterally or via the UN, WTO or other relevant international institutions…I call on the United States to lift or suspend all unilateral coercive measures applied to Cuba and Cuban companies…I urge the United States to cease the state of national emergency as being not in accordance with art. 4 of the ICCPR, and to align national legislation with international law, including human rights law and the law of international responsibility”
This Report was issued on November 21st, 2025. In complete defiance of the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur and in violation of international law, US imperialism has now instituted a blockade on oil going to Cuba. This began with the seizure of oil tankers from Venezuela going to Cuba, and now by the threat of the unilateral (and thus illegal) imposition of large tariffs against any country that exports oil and petroleum products to Cuba. The US is attempting to completely shut down the Cuban economy by cutting off its energy and create an immense humanitarian crisis in Cuba. This will impact most severely on the vulnerable – women, children, the elderly and those in urgent need of health care. This is a crime against humanity! The US also stands guilty of complicity in the crimes against humanity and genocide of the Palestinian people. But US imperialism and Israel - its ally in crimes against humanity – do not care about the lives of people. They have no regard for humanity. It is all about the sustaining of global hegemony by the most cruel, violent means possible.
We counter this with our solidarity; with our affirmation of humanity; with our recognition of what the Cuban people and the Cuban Revolution have done through their humanity for us in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and throughout the world – especially the global south. In spite of decades of a cruel blockade which caused massive economic and financial losses to Cuba; the Cuban people and Government:
• Provided tens of thousands of scholarships to young people, including many from Trinidad and Tobago, enabling them to attain tertiary level education and pursue fulfilling professional lives and contributing to their country’s economic and social development;
• Provided thousands of health care professionals to work in other countries – often performing heroic care for people whom nobody else wished to assist – Ebola in Africa; Haiti especially after the devastating earthquake and the outbreak of cholera brought into Haiti by the deployment of UN troops of MINUSTAH; and very many countries impacted by Covid 19;
• Conducted surgery, free of cost, for tens of thousands of people – mostly the elderly – who suffered from cataract and other eye problems through Operation Milagro with the support of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela which provided free air travel for the patients;
• Offered professional sporting support – coaches, training – for the athletes of other countries enabling them to excel: our own Keshorn Walcott being a prime example as he won his Olympic Gold Medal and T&T’s second Gold Medal – with a Cuban coach.
• Provided technical advice in diverse areas - insect vector control, mitigation of natural disasters, agriculture and much more;
• Extended solidarity to the people of Grenada through the construction of its international airport and then with the loss of Cuban lives, killed by the invading US military;
• And most importantly, contributed immensely to the end of the vicious racist system of apartheid and also ensured the liberation from racist, colonial occupation and the winning of independence of southern African States – Angola; Namibia; Zimbabwe; Mozambique – by sending Cuban combatants to fight Portuguese and apartheid Southern African military, who the heroic Cubans defeated at the cost of many lives. This sacrifice of Cuban lives in solidarity with other peoples is of a value that cannot be calculated.
The Cuban people have the inalienable right to self-determination. Cuba’s sovereignty must be respected. The US must cease to violate international law and the UNC Charter. The US must be held accountable for its crimes against humanity.
We, therefore, Demand that:
1. The US end its naval blockade of Cuba and allow Cuba to receive oil and its energy requirements without any fetter;
2. The US not threaten or impose any unilateral punitive tariff or other coercive measure on any country that provides oil and other energy products to Cuba;
3. The US President terminate ALL the unilateral Executive Orders that are coercive measures against Cuba as these are in violation of international law and the UN Charter, including the false listing of Cuba on the so-called list of countries that are engaged in the state sponsorship of terrorism;
4. The US Congress revoke all the legislation that have created the illegal, illegitimate commercial, financial and economic blockade of Cuba as called for by the Member States of the United Nations through the annual vote at the United Nations General Assembly and demanded by the overwhelming solidarity with Cuba expressed by the peoples of the world;
5. The US cease to threaten and or impose punitive measures against third countries, and especially those Members of CARICOM, that have bilateral or multilateral agreements with Cuba whereby Cuba provides scholarships, medical services through their Medical Brigades of health care professionals, engages in trade and other arrangements that are mutually beneficial to Cuba and to our peoples as these actions by the US constitute a gross violation of our right to self-determination and our sovereignty.
We further Call on:
• The United Nations Security Council to take positive action to have the US end the criminal blockade against Cuba and to take all such other steps as may be necessary to avert the humanitarian crisis in Cuba that the US has created by its actions that are contrary to international law and the UN Charter as identified in the Report of the UNCHR Special Rapporteur;
• The nations and people of the Global South to extend to Cuba the solidarity that Cuba has so generously provided to us, through concrete material support and to stand firm against any and all threats and acts of intimidation by the bully US regime that seeks to prevent trade, economic and other relations between Cuba and other states.
We are the Undersigned Organisations:
• All Mansions of Rastafari
• Assembly of Caribbean People (Trinidad and Tobago Chapter)
• Black Agenda Project
• Caribbean Freedom Project
• Caribbean Pan Afrikan and Indigenous Movement
• Concerned Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago
• Emancipation Support Committee
• Joint Trade Union Movement
• Movement for Social Justice
• Network of NGO’s for the Advancement of Women
• New National Vision
• Trinbago for Palestine
• Trinidad and Tobago Friends of Cuba
• Warao Community of San Fernando
2026 February 4.
Emancipation Support Committee TT - ESCTT Freedom Project Caribbean MOVEMENT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE Caribbean Network for Solidarity with Cuba TrinbagoniansforPalestine
