OPINION: By HE Sergio Manuel Martínez González, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Antigua and Barbuda

Successive U.S. administrations have consistently used the date of May 20th to announce new measures reinforcing what the Cuban government describes as a criminal economic blockade against Cuba. According to Antigua.news, Miami — characterised by the Ambassador as a haven for anti-Cuban political interests — has typically served as the chosen venue for such announcements.

Last May 20th was no exception. Acting on what the Ambassador describes as instructions from the current White House occupant and his Secretary of State, the acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice announced the decision to file charges against Cuban Revolution leader Army General Raúl Castro Ruz. The indictment relates to events surrounding the downing of two aircraft operated by the organisation known as Brothers to the Rescue — an incident that occurred more than 30 years ago.

The Ambassador characterises the accusation as a dishonest manipulation of historical facts and questions why seven consecutive U.S. administrations, including President Trump's first term, took no such action before now.

In his view, the decision represents a further escalation by the Secretary of State, South Florida legislators, and anti-Cuban groups seeking to justify continued economic pressure and, he warns, potential military aggression against Cuba.

The Ambassador goes on to accuse the current U.S. government of extrajudicially executing approximately 200 people and destroying 57 vessels in international waters of the Caribbean and Pacific, under allegations of drug trafficking links and without, he asserts, any legal evidence.

He further holds the Trump Administration responsible for what he describes as the deaths of over one hundred Iranian children in U.S. bombings, and for thousands of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces with U.S. support.

The Ambassador also places responsibility on the Trump Administration and its Secretary of State for what he calls the immense damage and suffering inflicted on the Cuban people through economic strangulation measures.

Cuba, he emphasises, does not regard itself as an enemy of the United States and has never posed a threat to U.S. national security. Nevertheless, he states that Cubans will exercise, at whatever cost, their inalienable right to defend the principles of sovereignty and self-determination.

"We will never become a United States possession or another of its neocolonial domains," the Ambassador concludes.