Cuba’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, Her Excellency Yenielys Linares, has expressed gratitude for Saint Lucia’s continued solidarity with the Cuban people, while highlighting the severe economic and humanitarian challenges facing her country.
Speaking during Cuba’s National Rebellion Day observance in Soufriere, Ambassador Linares said sanctions and international restrictions continue to place enormous pressure on Cuba’s economy and its ability to provide essential services.
She argued that Cuba’s inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism has significantly affected its ability to conduct international business.
“Cuba cannot, listen well, cannot have economic transactions in the international market, and we cannot have access to credits.”
She questioned the justification for the designation, pointing to Cuba’s own experience with acts of terrorism.
“Why? Because we are included in a list of states that sponsor terrorism, justifying the financial persecution applied.”
“However, at least, or more than 3,000 Cubans have died due to terrorist actions, and more than 2,000 have been injured due to terrorist actions.”
The Ambassador said recent measures targeting Cuba’s overseas medical missions have also affected healthcare services and educational opportunities.
“Millions of people have been deprived of the attention of Cuban doctors and healthcare workers due to the end of the medical brigades.”
She added that the country’s health sector continues to face additional sanctions.
“Two days ago, the Cuban medical brigades and the Cuban Minister of Health were also sanctioned.”
According to Linares, Cuban scholarship programmes have also been affected.
“Cuban scholarships to Caribbean students are, in practice, being affected.”
The Ambassador also described the impact of persistent electricity shortages, drawing a comparison with Saint Lucia’s tropical climate.
“Imagine a country as hot as Saint Lucia without electricity 24-30 hours and then electricity comes for three hours.”
She explained that the outages make it nearly impossible for families to preserve food.
“So you don’t have time to freeze the food or to freeze everything. You need to buy the food for the day. You cannot buy food in order to store the food because there is no electricity to preserve it,” she said.
Despite the country’s difficulties, Linares maintained that many Cubans continue to support the nation’s political system.
“Cuba is not a perfect society, no society is perfect.”
She acknowledged that differing political views exist both within Cuba and among Cubans living abroad.
“There are political differences of Cubans inside and outside the country.”
However, she said millions of citizens have recently demonstrated their support for the Cuban Revolution.
“More than 6 million Cubans signed recently in support of the revolution and massive demonstrations have been held against the economic hostility and the threats of military aggression.”
Linares also pointed to public support for Cuba’s current constitutional framework.
“A relevant fact is that the current constitution of Cuba was approved by 86% of voters in a popular referendum.”
The Ambassador concluded by expressing appreciation for the friendship and support shown by Saint Lucia during what she described as one of the most difficult periods facing the Cuban people.