Madrid, Aug 2 (Prensa Latina) The State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MESC) denounced in a statement the blocking of containers and the increase in freight costs for donations destined for Cuba.

• August 2, 2026 | 06:48

According to Prensa Latina, which learned this today through the text, the MESC referred in particular to two containers of humanitarian aid, one from the Catalan solidarity coordinator Defensem Cuba and another from the NGO Sodepaz.

In this regard, the MESC denounced the unjustified retention of two shipments of solidarity aid destined for Cuba, sent from Catalonia and Madrid by decision of two international shipping companies, fearful of sanctions from the United States Government.

Both have been blocked for more than two weeks in Caribbean ports, preventing their arrival in Santiago de Cuba, the source said.

He also detailed that one of the containers contains mattresses and other essential goods intended for people affected by Hurricane Melissa in eastern Cuba.

The other one is transporting 3.5 million syringes and hypodermic needles for the public health system of Santiago de Cuba.

“The organizations responsible for the shipment are working to secure the immediate release of both containers and are studying appropriate legal action in light of the serious damage caused,” he reported.

In the statement, the Ministry of Economy and Culture (MESC) emphasized that this is not an isolated case. “It adds to the growing difficulties Cuba faces in receiving essential goods,” it noted.

According to data recently provided by Cuban authorities, around seven thousand shipments of medicines, medical equipment, food and other supplies remain stranded in Caribbean ports, affected by the restrictions resulting from the White House blockade.

Elsewhere in its statement, the MESC explained that the actions of certain shipping companies “demonstrate their collaboration with the extraterritorial application of the blockade, despite the fact that European Union legislation itself includes mechanisms to protect European companies against US sanctions.”

As a result, many operations are diverted to third countries, increasing transport times and freight costs, with a direct impact on Cuba’s supply, he added.

“The Ministry of Education and Culture (MESC) denounces that these measures affect even humanitarian aid and essential health supplies, directly harming the Cuban population. The blockade not only aims to stifle the country’s economy, but also to obstruct international solidarity among nations,” it stated.

Ana Ruíz Alonso, a Catalan activist from Defensem Cuba, commented on her surprise when she learned two weeks ago that the container sent, along with hundreds more, had been abandoned in the port of Kingston, Jamaica.

The only way to solve the problem is by returning it, in our case, to Barcelona to unload it, return the container, and start from scratch, at an additional cost of 20,000 euros, Ruiz Alonso complained.

The same applies to Sodepaz’s shipment of three and a half million syringes for humanitarian purposes in the Santiago de Cuba area, he specified.

to/ft

Havana, July 31 (Prensa Latina) Cuba maintains a parliament with a majority of women today, after the validation of 10 new deputies during the recently concluded VII Ordinary Session of the X Legislature, to fill existing vacancies in the same number of municipalities of the country.

• July 31, 2026 | 11:11

Of the ten newly added members, five are female deputies, which keeps the gender proportion above parity.

At the start of the current legislative session, the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) was composed of 470 members, 57.4 percent of whom were women, according to official data from the body itself. The average age was 46, and over 94 percent had a university education.

In 2026, only 27.5 percent of parliamentarians globally are women, compared to 11 percent in 1995, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union published on its website Women in national parliaments.

Cuba is one of the seven countries with parity or majority female representation and the second with the highest number of women in parliament in lower houses or unicameral parliaments behind Rwanda (64 percent).

Another 23 countries have reached or exceeded 40 percent, including 10 in Europe, six in Africa, five in Latin America and the Caribbean, and two in Asia-Pacific.

In the case of Cuba, this correlation has shown an upward trend in recent years. In 1981, men held 77 percent of the seats, while women held only 23 percent, according to figures published by the Cuban Observatory on Gender Equality.

In the 2022-2023 election process, that ratio was already 55.7 percent women, compared to 44.3 percent men.

There are 21 countries worldwide where women hold less than 10 percent of parliamentary seats, including three lower houses where there are no women at all. Given this situation, gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063, according to UN Women.

The incorporation of the new parliamentarians was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Law, which stipulates that, in the event of a permanent vacancy in the position of deputy, the corresponding Municipal Assembly of People’s Power elects the substitute to complete the term.

ga/evm/de

Brasilia, July 27 (Prensa Latina) Members of solidarity organizations and social movements celebrated Cuba’s National Rebellion Day in several Brazilian cities, with acts of support for the island and condemnation of the US blockade.

• July 27, 2026 | 11:15

Reports sent today to Prensa Latina specified that events held in Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro commemorated the 73rd anniversary of the attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks.

These actions, led by Fidel Castro, marked the beginning of the final stage of the struggles of the largest of the Antilles for its emancipation.

According to reports, the initiatives were dominated by rejection of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States more than six decades ago, as well as demands for its immediate lifting and recognition of the Cuban people for their capacity to resist external pressures.

In Porto Alegre, a caravan toured several emblematic points of that city yesterday, following a call from the José Martí Cultural Association of Rio Grande do Sul, which also celebrated its 52nd anniversary.

Despite adverse weather conditions, dozens of participants joined the march with Cuban and Brazilian flags, banners and slogans in support of the Caribbean nation’s Revolution.

They denounced the tightening of the blockade with restrictions on oil supplies to the island and new pressure tactics adopted by Washington, while reiterating the message that “Cuba is not alone.”

The celebration in São Paulo took place at the headquarters of the Elza Soares Cultural Space, where the historical legacy of July 26 and the continued relevance of defending Cuban sovereignty were highlighted.

During the event, the following individuals spoke: Linha Noronha, president of the José Martí Cultural Association of São Paulo; João Pedro Stedile, coordinator of the Landless Rural Workers Movement; Fernando Morais, renowned writer and journalist; and Benigno Pérez, the Cuban consul general in that city.

The attendees agreed to highlight the historical ties of friendship between the Brazilian and Cuban peoples, as well as the importance of strengthening international solidarity in the face of unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States.

Rio de Janeiro hosted a political-cultural event organized by the Carioca Committee of Solidarity with Cuba, which brought together members of social, trade union and political organizations, along with representatives of the island’s community residing there.

Various speeches reaffirmed support for Cuba and denounced the tightening of the blockade, considered by those present as the main obstacle to the development of the Caribbean nation.

ft/dsa

Mexico City, July 26 (Prensa Latina) Thousands of members of more than 90 organizations marched today in the Mexican capital to condemn the genocidal policy of the United States against Cuba, in another demonstration that the Caribbean nation “is not alone”.

• July 26, 2026 | 4:46 PM

Among flags of the island, the participants began the journey in the morning from the Hemiciclo a Juárez, to also commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks in the east of the Caribbean country.

Shouts of “Cuba yes, Yankees no”, “Cuba will not bend” and “To topple, to topple the criminal blockade” emerged among members of social organizations, parties, unions and civil society, who asked Mexico to send oil to that nation.

After the demonstration in front of the former US embassy here concluded, the organizers read a joint statement denouncing the intensification of Washington’s economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.

They pointed out that the anti-Cuban mafia in Miami, headed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “has taken US aggression against Cuba to the limit,” with measures such as an energy blockade that they described as criminal.

“This translates into blackouts that last more than 20 hours, medicines that don’t reach hospitals, surgeries that have to be postponed, food that rots in ports, the closure of schools, and the inability to care for newborns with health problems,” they explained.

They considered it a “cruel collective punishment, which can be categorized as genocide, because it seeks to starve an entire people who have known how to resist and defend their sovereignty and independence,” as well as “an act of war,” but not the only one.

In that regard, they referred to Washington’s repeated actions to pursue any source of financing that Cuba might obtain, and mentioned that it uses decrees and secondary sanctions to impose restrictions on key entities for the economy.

The statement warns of the threat by US President Donald Trump to carry out a military intervention and maintains that the accusation against the leader of the Revolution, Raúl Castro, is intended to simulate a legal reason for the presence of US troops on Cuban soil.

“The pretext for these aggressions is the cynical and shameless accusation that Cuba is an unusual and extraordinary threat to the security of the United States,” the text asserts, adding that the real threat is Washington’s blockade, which deprives a people of the minimum conditions for life.

He calls for uniting forces to reject “the imperialist and fascist onslaught on Cuba and the peoples of Our America” ​​and to put into action all possible forms of support for the Caribbean nation.

Among the organizations that called for the march were the Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba and the José Martí Association of Cuban Residents in Mexico.

kmg/las

Montevideo, Jul 20 (Prensa Latina) Cuba is facing a multidimensional war that acts as a punishment for its people, stated Lissett Perez, the Caribbean island’s ambassador to Uruguay.

• July 20, 2026

She said that the oil embargo decreed by the United States is, in practice, a naval blockade that also affects other countries and underscores the extraterritorial nature of Washington’s policies against her nation.

It is a people suffering human rights violations, unable to advance their development plans. On the contrary, she noted, the US seeks to reverse the social, economic, and scientific achievements attained by the Cuban Revolution.

Cuba suffers harassment from the world’s leading power—located just 90 miles off its coast—despite the fact that the United Nations General Assembly has called for an immediate end to the blockade on 33 occasions, she stated.

She remembered that on July 7, Cuba once again brought the urgent situation it faces—and its sovereign right to trade and purchase fuel—before the General Assembly. She praised the vote by 136 countries to debate the issue, as well as the statements made by many representatives “against that hostile policy.”

She emphasized that the United States flouts international law and the norms running relations between states. It seeks to impose its own rules, including within the Pan-American system, to exert greater interference in the continent’s countries.

Cuba has had to withstand a genocidal onslaught; when speaking of genocide, silent war, and suffocation, there is also a cognitive effect involved—specifically, the demonization of Cuba and the blaming of its government for current events. “A diabolical double game,” she declared in an interview with the program *Legitima Manana* from the *Caras y Caretas* media group. jdt/ga/ool

The Chinese spokesman dismissed Washington’s claims about alleged military installations on the island as “rumors and slander.”

July 21, 2026 — teleSUR

On July 21, the Chinese government categorically rejected US accusations regarding the alleged presence of foreign military and intelligence installations in Cuba, describing bilateral ties as legitimate and transparent.

During a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian asserted that the historical ties of cooperation between Beijing and Havana do not allow for rumors or slander.

The spokesman emphasized that the Asian nation will continue to defend the national sovereignty of its people and oppose any form of external interference in the internal affairs of states.

The Chinese government ‘s response comes after the publication of a 100-page report issued by the U.S. State Department , entitled “Cuba: The Capital of Communism in the 21st Century.”

The White House has intensified its rhetoric against the Caribbean island under the current administration led by Donald Trump, using these accusations as part of a unilateral pressure strategy that includes economic sanctions and sectoral blockades.

For its part, Havana has repeatedly denied the claims made by the White House. The Cuban government reaffirmed that its national territory does not host bases or intelligence operations of foreign powers, directly contradicting the content of the U.S. report.

Cuban authorities have described these accusations as part of a disinformation campaign aimed at justifying the tightening of unilateral measures against the island.

These discursive attacks against the island are part of an escalation of unilateral pressures by the Donald Trump Administration, which include an energy blockade against the Caribbean nation that has severely impacted the country’s  economy .

The energy blockade imposed by the United States is part of a set of coercive measures that seek to economically suffocate Cuba , in what the Cuban government denounces as a systematic violation of international law and the principles of national sovereignty.

China’s position on the current situation

Chinese spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated that China will uphold its position of defending national sovereignty and will not allow third countries to interfere in its legitimate bilateral relations with Cuba . The diplomat’s statement reflects the strategic alliance between the two nations , which have maintained diplomatic and cooperative ties for decades.

Beijing’s support for Havana in this context takes on special significance, given that China has been a key trading partner for the island amid the sanctions imposed by Washington, providing investments and assistance in strategic sectors such as energy, telecommunications, and infrastructure.

Author: teleSUR – er – JML

Havana, July 21 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced that the new report published by the United States Department of State resorts to lies to justify the aggression against the Caribbean nation, which is currently suffering the effects of an intensified blockade.

“The thief thinks everyone is like him,” the president paraphrased to characterize the document, promoted – he indicated – by one of the most corrupt officials in the current administration, with proven links to drug traffickers and terrorists in Florida.

Through his account on the social network X, Díaz-Canel condemned that if there is one country that has attacked, spied on and assaulted Cuba to obscene levels, it is the United States.

“The millions of dollars that are allocated annually to regime change programs in Cuba are public knowledge, appealing to both subversion and terrorism,” he exemplified.

The head of state also recalled criminal episodes against the island nation, including the introduction of plagues and diseases; hemorrhagic dengue alone claimed the lives of 101 children; the downing of a plane with 73 people on board; hotel bombings; assassination attempts; and psychological warfare.

To all of this history is added the blockade and the genocidal dimension it acquires with the current reinforcement and energy siege. There is no greater act of subversion against a state, conceived and officially described by the United States to exhaust the people and undermine their support for the Revolution, he added in his message.

He affirmed that what the Cuban Revolution has done throughout its history is to defend itself against these successive and endless aggressions, by legitimate right.

“Cuba has never acted to harm the American people, nor has it ever sought to affect the national security of that country,” he added.

He also warned that the transnational neo-McCarthyism being reinstated in the United States, from a clearly fascist current, resorts to lies to generate pretexts on which to maintain aggressions against Cuba and curtail civil liberties in the North American country.

For his part, the Caribbean island’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, stressed on the same social network that this fallacy from the State Department is part of the Secretary of State’s construction of a justification to sustain his cruel and criminal economic war that punishes every Cuban family, and his aspiration to militarily attack Cuba, for which he desperately seeks the support of American citizens.

He also warned that this is further evidence of the macabre plan devised by that American politician from South Florida, who only serves the interests of those who have always paid him.

The U.S. State Department on Monday released a report titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism” that describes the island as a threat that has fostered left-wing extremism and built a network of espionage and influence to undermine U.S. interests.

Apparently, the report, which throughout its 64 pages stirs up the specter of communism and aims to plant a negative opinion matrix, is a consequence of the anti-left meeting convened in Washington by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which representatives of at least 66 nations participated last week.

ft/mpp

July 15, 2026 — Belly of the Beast

Democrats to Rubio: “Show Us the Receipts”

Russian and Chinese spy bases. Hamas and Hezbollah. Terrorism. Communism.

To justify economic war on Cuba, the Trump administration is leaning on a seemingly endless list of flimsy allegations to argue that Cuba poses a threat to U.S. national security.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), who traveled to Cuba last week with three other Democratic members of Congress, said none of the administration’s accusations against Cuba have been backed up.

“For all of that long list of claims, we have seen no proof,” Leger Fernández told Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández in an exclusive interview. “That’s one of the things that the American people, the American media, the American Congress needs to demand.”

Leger Fernández was on the verge of tears as she recounted visiting a Cuban hospital and hearing about the rise in infant mortality due to sanctions and the U.S. oil blockade.

“Why would we do that? Why would Americans support that?” she asked.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) recalled a young Cuban engineer’s message for Donald Trump: “Can you tell your president he has his foot on my neck? Either he ends my life or he pulls the foot off my neck.”

Nine million people, Ramirez continued, “feel that they’re being choked” by U.S. economic warfare.

Embassy Denies Lawmakers a Meeting

The U.S. embassy in Havana declined the congressional delegation’s request for a meeting — a response that Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) says is not normal. Pocan visited Cuba four years ago on a congressional visit, when he held extensive meetings with U.S. embassy officials.

“I don’t think they really want people to know what’s going on because they’re putting a false narrative out there,” he said.

Asked whether Cuba poses a threat to the United States, the lawmakers’ response was categorical.

“In none of the three days that we have been here have I seen that the Cuban people are a threat to the American people,” Ramirez said. “What I’ve seen is this real desire of being in solidarity with one another.”