Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez sent a message to the Second International Conference on Unilateral Coercive Measures in Geneva, ending April 10. He stressed Cuba's trust in multilateralism and diplomacy to maintain peace amid the US blockade. He highlighted the humanitarian impact of the intensified energy embargo.
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, stated that Cuba trusts multilateralism and diplomacy as the only effective tools for peace and sustainable development despite adverse conditions.
He referenced the recent arrival of the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin carrying 100,000 tons of fuel, celebrated by Cubans after over three months of a US-imposed energy blockade. The blockade threatens coercive measures against countries exporting fuel to Cuba, violating human rights and trade freedoms, he denounced.
Díaz-Canel outlined impacts: prolonged power outages, water and liquefied gas shortages, 96,000 Cubans—including 11,000 children—awaiting surgeries due to electricity shortages, 16,000 radiotherapy patients, and 2,888 on hemodialysis affected. Schools and universities shifted to blended learning, transport halted, and food production severely hit.
He urged international institutions to confront these measures, proposing a Human Rights Council working group and a binding legal instrument for their removal. He thanked global solidarity against the blockade and reaffirmed unwavering defense of Cuban sovereignty.
