“Cuban people are prepared to respond. We are not afraid of the future, we trust in the plans we have as a country,” said Ofelia Miriam Ortega.
On Tuesday, Cuba’s International Relations Committee in Parliament supported the government’s June 16 statement denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies toward the socialist-run island.
In doing so, the committee recalled the values of sovereignty and independence secured by the 1959 Revolution in defense of its future and key principles that define the Caribbean nation.
“We can reflect how much we have achieved as a nation, without interference of any kind,” Jorge Luis Mazorra told Granma.
The young representative from Marianao municipality who supported the commission noted that the U.S.-imposed blockade “remains a point of debate.” He called upon lawmakers around the world to continue to demand that the U.S. Congress “definitively lift” the decades-long blockade.
Ofelia Miriam Ortega, a representative from the municipality of Calimete in the Matanzas province, confessed that Trump’s words didn’t come as a surprise.
“I almost expected what he was going to say,” she said. However, Miriam Ortega affirmed that the “Cuban people are prepared to respond. We are not afraid of the future, we trust in the plans we have as a country.”
Also hailing from Matanzas is Magalis Leon, representative of Pedro Betancourt municipality. She emphasized that any bilateral relationship with the United States must recognize and respect our sovereignty and identity.
“I consider that we as a people, as deputies, as true revolutionaries, have always been prepared to face any difficulty, bearing in mind that we must work hard for a better future.”
Leon’s remarks coalesced around a final, unequivocal statement that sums up the essence of Cuba: “We will always be ready to defend our Revolution, our Country.”
Last month, Trump outlined his hardline policy on Cuba during a speech in Miami.
“Our policy will seek a much better deal for the Cuban people and for the United States of America. We don’t want U.S. dollars to prop up a military monopoly that exploits and abuses the citizens of Cuba,” Trump said, pledging that U.S. sanctions would not be lifted until Cuba frees its so-called “political prisoners” and holds “free elections.”
Granma
by teleSUR / jc-RSF-sg
teleSUR, July 12, 2017
