Mexico pledges continued aid for Cuba despite US blockade
Mexico City: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated her government’s commitment to supplying Cuba with humanitarian aid, saying the island country faces a tough situation that requires the solidarity of the international community.
During her daily press conference, Sheinbaum pledged to continue sending all kinds of aid as part of the two countries’ longstanding ties of solidarity, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We continue to send all kinds of aid and we are going to continue sending … aid to the Cuban people,” she said.
Mexico will do everything in its power to continue providing support to the island country, particularly as the United States tightens its more than six-decade-long blockade of Cuba, Sheinbaum stressed.
“It’s a matter of solidarity. The people of Mexico have always done this, and we will continue to do so, because it is a country that needs it,” she added.
Earlier in May, President Sheinbaum had defended the principle of self-determination and voiced disagreement with the US decision to bring criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro.
“What is the point of accusing someone now for something that happened 30 years ago?” Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference.
The US Department of Justice recently filed an indictment against Castro, accusing him of playing an alleged role in the 1996 downing of two aircraft operated by the Cuban-American exile group Brothers to the Rescue.
Castro, 94, was Cuba’s minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time.
According to the Cuban government, the aircraft had repeatedly violated Cuban airspace and ignored prior warnings, leaving Cuba no choice but to exercise what it described as its right to self-defence.
Sheinbaum said the United States has always used the issue of drug trafficking as a pretext for interference, adding that Mexico does not share that approach.
She also said Mexico should remain mindful of history while continuing to cooperate with the United States where possible.
“We do not want to fight with them,” she said, adding that Mexico seeks cooperation while prioritising the interests of both peoples and maintaining constructive relationships between the two governments.