The US unconventional war against Cuba
The revolutionary people quickly retake the streets of Cuba
All is normal and tranquil in Cuba, and it has been so since Monday, July 12, notwithstanding the extraordinary dissemination of fake news. On the Internet, a portrait has been disseminated of a government that is aloof from the people and unable to manage the economy or the pandemic; and a popular insurrection against the government. False images have been disseminated, including photos of Argentinians celebrating the recent victory in the football Cup of America, a protest in Alexandria, Egypt, a previous Cuban demonstration demanding that the U.S. government end the blockade of Cuba, and a street demonstration in Cuba on July 11 in support of the government; all presented as Cubans protesting the government on July 11. It is a false portrait, constructed on a foundation of decades of lies and distortions about Cuba.
But the reality is something other. On July 11, responding to a media campaign organized in the United States, political operatives organized small demonstrations and incited collective acts of vandalism and violence by dozens of persons in several localities in Havana and a few of the provinces. Responding to the call of the Cuban president, revolutionaries quickly retook the streets, not with arms but with the force of numbers; supported by the police, who applied minimally necessary force in arresting people engaged in vandalism and violence. By the end of the day of July 11, normalcy had been restored. Throughout week, the people have been going to work and shopping in a normal manner, without incidents of disruption.
The organized campaign has sought to take advantage of current difficulties in Cuba, which should not be exaggerated and should be understood in context. The Cuban health system is overextended by a new peak of Covid cases, but it has not collapsed. There are lines to buy food and there are shortages of some food items, as a result of the intensification of the U.S. blockade; but there is not hunger or desperation. The great majority of the people believe that the government is doing all that is possible to address these problems.
In 2019, Cuban analysts gave name to a new form of U.S. imperialist aggression. They observed that an “unconventional war” has been unfolding since 2015, and it has targeted Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. These vanguard nations have taken the lead in seeking a sovereign road that challenges the structures of the neocolonial world-system, and in forging a process of Latin American unity and integration as the best approach to attaining sovereignty. The multifaceted unconventional war includes, first, an ideological campaign, carried out with the complicity of the corporate-controlled media and pushed by “influencers” on social media, designed to discredit the vanguard governments in international public opinion, thus justifying aggressive actions. It includes, secondly, an economic war that uses available strategies to block the supply of necessary goods, such as economic blockades, enlisting the support of international retailers, and blocking financial transactions. It includes, in addition, the financing and strategic support of opposition electoral candidates appropriate for U.S. interests. It includes, moreover, the false claims of electoral fraud, thereby challenging the legitimacy of elected governments. It includes the financing of violent, criminal gangs to create a false image of popular discontent and popular unrest, and to intimidate political and social leaders tied to the government. And the unconventional war in Latin America has enlisted the support of the Organization of American States. The unconventional war counts on the participation of the U.S. military in the multifaceted process, but direct military intervention has functioned as a threat, at least thus far.
In the case of Cuba, the extreme political weakness and low moral character of the counterrevolutionary opposition limits strategies that involve the support of internal actors, although the U.S. government continues its long-standing policy of financing small groups to carry out violent and destabilizing activities. The strongest weapon of the war against Cuba has been the intensification of the U.S. blockade since 2019, including measures that create obstacles to Cuban financial transactions necessary for the purchase of commercial products from companies in third countries. These measures have had a cumulative effect over the last two years, which combined with the effect of the pandemic on tourism and the economy, had led to shortages in foods and medicines.
On July 11, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel appeared on Cuban television to inform the people of disturbances in various locations in Cuba. He reviewed the situation created during the past two years by the intensification of the blockade and the pandemic; and he noted that there had been electric power blackouts in some places in recent days. He observed that the situation has provoked some dissatisfactions among the people, which has been exploited by counterrevolutionary elements financed by the USA.
Díaz-Canel recounted that he went to San Antonio de los Baños, one of the sites of the disturbances. He talked with the people, and he found that they pertained to two groups. On the one hand, there were persons who were determined to subvert the revolutionary process, in accordance with the expectations of counterrevolutionaries outside of Cuba; and on the other hand, there were revolutionaries who had genuine dissatisfaction with recent shortages, and who to some extant were confused. He stressed the importance of keeping in mind the distinction between these two sectors among the protesters.
Díaz-Canel reiterated to the people the concern of the government with the shortages and its efforts to address the problem, and he promised special attention to the problems identified in the locality. Meanwhile, during the encounter, many people arrived to express their backing of the revolutionary process and to denounce the protestors.
Díaz-Canel called upon the revolutionaries, led by the communists, to take to the streets to defend the revolution, in response to this recent provocation. He declared that “the streets are of the revolutionaries.”
During the two days following the intervention of the Cuban President, Cuban television continually reported on the forceful response of the people in the face of the destabilization plans. Video images were shown of street demonstrations in support of the revolution and against the provocation in the provinces of Artemisa, Cienfuegos, Havana, Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Ciego de Avila, Villa Clara, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo. In addition, many organizations of civil society declared their support for the revolutionary process and organized events in the streets.
The Cuban government rejects “humanitarian intervention,” which is a phrase that the United States has used to justify military intervention in situations where there is what it considers ungovernability or a violation of international law. Cuba maintains that no international norm would justify the use of “humanitarian intervention” in the context of the actual Cuban situation. Any entity that desires to send aid to Cuba should do so in accordance with established procedures through Cuban embassies.
On July 12, Díaz-Canel and various members of the Cuban government held a press conference, which was broadcast on all Cuban television channels and lasted more than four hours. Themes discussed included the economic situation, the electric power blackouts, the Cuban response to the pandemic, and the U.S. unconventional war against Cuba and Venezuela
The economic situation. Díaz Canel declared that the Cuban government is focused on resolving the problem of shortages of food and medicines, the principal cause of which has been the intensification of the blockade. This can be seen with respect to the production of medicine. The Cuban pharmaceutical industry has evolved to become technologically-advanced, so that Cuba is capable of producing most of its own medicines. The Cuban system of pharmaceutical production depends on the importation of certain raw materials, which the recent financial restrictions of the blockade prevent Cuba from buying. Here is a cynical, immoral game played by the USA: prevent the Cuban government from buying the raw materials that its industry requires, and then exploit the subsequent shortages and social dissatisfactions to provoke disorder, which is then used as a pretext for intervention.
The retail stores that charge in foreign currencies often have been mentioned in the media campaign and were an object of protest in the disturbances. Díaz-Canel explained the rationale for the foreign currency stories, as the government had previously explained on several occasions. The government is capturing foreign currencies through the foreign currency stores, using them to invest in production for the stores that sell in national money. So the foreign currency stores are designed to elevate production for the benefit of all the people, not merely those who have access to foreign currency. Of course, Díaz-Canel noted, it is understandable that a person with limited access to foreign currency may feel resentment concerning the situation, which is exploited by the media campaign.
Díaz-Canel notes that the people have to be conscious of the role of foreign currency stores in the comprehensive social and economic plan, and they have to keep in mind the ultimate objectives those who campaign against the Cuban revolution. They do not want to help the Cuban people; they want to impose privatization, so that a few rich people will benefit. They refer to the Cuban political system as a “regime,” not appreciating the democratic participation of the people in the Cuban political process. But Cubans have the capacity to resist the unconventional war, as Venezuela did.
Alejandro Gil, Minister of the Economy, spoke of the greater costs as a result of the pandemic, including the costs of medical equipment and supplies, as well as the costs of maintaining people in hospitals and centers of isolations, all of which is paid completely by the state. At the same time, the income of the state has declined, as a result of the intensification of the blockade as well as the decline of tourism and other aspects of the economy as a result of the pandemic.
With respect to the foreign currency stores, Gil maintained the stores have been successful in capturing foreign currencies, but they have not been able to use the money fully as planned, because of the recent financial restrictions imposed by the blockade. He maintained that the principal cause of the current shortages in food and medicine is the restrictions of financial transactions imposed by the recent intensification of the blockade. The economy would be very different, he maintained, if it were not for the blockade and the pandemic.
Power blackouts. Raúl García, Minister of Energy and Mines, explained that there have been difficulties in acquiring the parts necessary for the normal maintenance of the electric system, due to the restrictions placed by the blockade on financial transactions. The accumulated effect of this situation has led in recent days to technical problems, which coincided with an increase in demand. The situation is being addressed, and it is expected that the technical problems will be resolved by following day. Díaz-Canel added that the recent spike in Covid-19 cases has made necessary the establishment of more centers of isolation, which have added to the demand; and that Cuba presently has new investments in the generation of electricity with the participation of Russia.
The Cuban response to the pandemic. Díaz-Canel observed that the Cuban plan for the containment of Covid-19 has been effective. He presented data on the number of positive Covid cases and the number of deaths per one million population, showing that Cuban levels were far lower than the world level, and far lower than many of the nations with advanced economies as well as the nations of Latin America. The key to the Cuban strategy has been to identify and isolate in state institutions people who have symptoms or who have had contact with a positive case.
Cuba has recently experienced a peak in its COVID cases, which is the result of various factors, Díaz-Canel explained. The people are tired of the health restrictions, and the initiation of vaccination has led to a reduction in the perception of risk. Thus the people are less disciplined in conforming with the health measures precisely at the time when stronger variants of the virus are circulating.
The recent peak has led to a situation in which the number of positive cases, persons with contact with positive cases, and persons with suspicious symptoms are greater than the capacity of the system to isolate them in state institutions. So Cuba has adopted recently the strategy of home confinement, which implies more medical staff to attend to patients in their homes, and the need for a higher level of support by the people.
The Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, reiterated that the high number of cases has left the system overcharged. He notes that the new variants have much higher velocity of transmission.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz reviewed the various stages in the government’s response to Covid-19. He noted that Cuba had formulated a plan for the prevention and containment of Covid by March 3, 2020, before the first cases on the island. The plan has evolved through different stages, but in general has focused on restrictions on mobility and on physical distancing; and on the rapid isolation and treatment of the sick. The plan has been developed by a temporary group of scientists and specialists, which has been granted the authority to make decisions. Implementation of the plan is carried out by the provincial and municipal governments. A group of seven of the government ministers has been formed, which visits the localities in order to assess the situation. The government does not rest, the Prime Minister maintained, and it has full confidence in the future.
The Prime Minister addressed the issue of the very high rates of infection recently in the province of Matanzas. He observed that, even though Russian tourists have traveled to tourist destinations in the province, it would not be correct to blame the current spike on tourism. He further noted that there have been 140,000 tourists so far this year, in contrast to nearly five million before the pandemic. Many of the workers in tourism, he said, have been transferred to the health sector, including some working in the red zone.
Cuban vaccines. Dr. Marta Ayala Ávila, Director General of Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, noted that Cuba has forty years of experience in developing vaccines. She noted that, in defense of its sovereignty, Cuba has developed its own Covid vaccines, five in number, and the vaccination of the population has begun. She noted that Cuban pharmaceutical industry has the capacity to make necessary modifications in the vaccines, in accordance with the evolution of the virus. She observed that most of the vaccines in the world have been developed with commercial interests, whereas the Cuban system has developed the vaccine primarily with orientation to the needs of the population, with marketing a secondary concern. For this reason, the characteristics of the vaccines are slightly different, although the Cuban vaccines are fully current with respect to developments of the vaccine internationally. She observed that in various countries of the world, the probability of contagion has diminished in areas where there is a generalized vaccination of the population.
Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister of Foreign Commerce, addressed the question of the exportation of the vaccine. He noted that Cuba has been exporting vaccines for years, and the Cuban pharmaceutical industry enjoys considerable international prestige. A number of countries are interested in the Cuban vaccines, but none has yet been exported, as Cuba is proceeding cautiously in accordance with international regulations. Contracts have been signed with Venezuela and Iran, and contracts are under discussion with Vietnam, South Africa, and Nicaragua, among others.
The U.S. unconventional war against Cuba and Venezuela. Díaz-Canel maintained that the strategy of the unconventional war has been used in Venezuela. The unconventional war in Venezuela included an economic war to provoke shortages, the fracturing of institutions, an effort at a “soft coup,” the forced taking of installations, and an effort to force humanitarian aid across the Venezuelan border. The offensive was planned by agencies in the USA, and it has sophisticated strategies. However, the Venezuelan experience shows that the unconventional war can be successfully resisted, if the people are unified and organized, as Cuba demonstrated on the previously day.
Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations Bruno Rodríguez noted that the disturbances in various places yesterday, in some cases including violence, are intended to create a situation in the streets, which is a typical element in the unconventional war. However, the strong response of the people has caused the effort to fail. Their does not exist in Cuba disorder nor ungovernability.
The Minister of Foreign Relations reported that in the wake of the disturbances yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden has called upon the Cuban “regime” to listen to the people. Rodríguez characterized Biden’s commentary as one of “extraordinary cynicism.” He further maintained that the U.S. government is using the virus as an ally in its unconventional war against Cuba. Rodríguez noted that in this confrontation, Cuba has received enormous expressions of solidarity from governments and organizations around the world.
Rodríguez accused the government of the United States of financing, through the Department of State and USAID, political operatives in Cuba. The current campaign was initiated on June 15, and since July 5, has included calls for “humanitarian intervention.” This modulo was used in Yugoslavia, acting without the authorization of the UN Security Council. In using this phrase, they are inventing justifications for a military intervention in Cuba.
Rodríguez maintains that the United States ought to acknowledge its employment of political operatives that use drones and automated systems (since July 9), which has included calls for the violence and for the assassination of the Cuban president. Twitter ought to acknowledge that the majority of its accounts are outside of Cuba, and the “influencers” are paid or pressured to create a virtually reality that does not exist in Cuba.
The Minister of Foreign Commerce noted that there exist structures for aid to Cuba, which have been developed during the Covid pandemic. The aid is mostly in the form of equipment, with donations from China, Venezuela, Russia, and India, among others. There also is an international account for donating in currencies. The principal obstacle has been the restrictions on financial transactions imposed by the government of the United States. Díaz-Canel added that Cuba will accept any sincere aid, but it will not accept aid that is part of a program of interference.
Diaz Canel concluded the press conference by declaring that in this press conference of more than four hours.
We have defended our values. We have defended our revolution. We have informed our people with respect to these events. We have demonstrated that we have a creative resistance. We have repudiated the mercenaries. In Cuba, we do not need humanitarian intervention; we need solidarity, as we ourselves have practiced. The measures imposed by Trump should be rescinded, and the blockade should be ended. Biden should listen to the peoples of the world and of the USA, including the majority of Cubans now living in the USA, who are calling for the end of the blockade of Cuba. Yesterday, the enemies of the revolution incited violence and even called for assassination, in order to destabilize our nation; and the Cuban people responded by defending their revolution.
On July 13, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez offered a press conference to the international press. He reported on a Twitter campaign in support of the counterrevolutionary action, using the hashtag SOS Cuba. The great majority of the accounts were outside of Cuba and were created during the course of the past year. They utilized sophisticated automated systems capable of sending a large number of tweets, many of which are picked up on social media and even the mainstream media. The tweets presented a false image of events in Cuba, with the intention of provoking “humanitarian intervention.”
Rodriguez maintained that the Twitter campaign against Cuba violated Twitter’s own rules as well as international law and the communication laws of Cuba. He called upon the executives of Twitter to enforce its rules. And he declared that Cuba will defend itself, enforcing its laws, in accordance with international principles and laws.
Cuban television news on July 13 reported on a fake news video circulating on the social media, which declared that anti-government protestors in the city of Camagüey had taken over the city, with the support of the police. Exposing this lie, the news report interviewed the head of the Communist Party in Camagüey, who stated that there had been no disturbances, and that the people during the course of the day were oriented to the vaccination program and their normal work tasks. The news provided various panoramic views of the city, showing the normalcy of the situation.
On July 14, Cuban television reported on fake news circulating to the effect that the television system in the city of Pinar del Río had been taken over. Exposing this lie, the news report interviewed various workers in different institutions related to the emission of television signals in the province, and all declared that it had been a normal work day and that no protests had occurred.
The Cuban international television channel CanalCaribe reported on a car, bus and truck caravan moving through the city of Santiago de Cuba, organized by the Union of Communist Youth. It was an impressive display of enthusiastic young people supporting the revolution, with large Cuban flags attached to the vehicles, and receiving the enthusiastic applause and support of people on the streets and from the balconies of apartment buildings. A second report from Santiago de Cuba provided a tour of the city, showing the streets nearly empty because of health restrictions; and showing lines in stores and centers of service to the population, in which those in line were maintaining physical distancing, in accordance with the health restrictions.
In a televised meeting of Díaz-Canel with his team on the morning of July 14, the Cuban president denounced the lies of the media campaign, which has gone so far as to call for acts of violence and even assassination. He pointed out that the people who have been arrested are not carrying out peaceful demonstrations, but acts of violence, stimulated by the media campaign. He characterized the media campaign as “mediatic terrorism,” and he observed that if any country ought to be placed on a list of countries sponsoring terrorism, it is the United States.
Díaz-Canel declared that we ought not be intoxicated by the media, nor should we assimilate the false news on the social media, as some people are doing; because the social media is attempting to create disorder, in accordance with the manuals of the empire on “soft coups.” We have to continue denouncing what is happening on the social media. Díaz-Canel further declared that “everyday our people are constructing a page in heroism, destroying the plans of the empire.”
Cuba seeks, Díaz-Canel declared, a dialogue based on mutual respect between two nations that are very different ideologically, but very near geographically, leading toward a civilized relation.
On July 14, in a special edition of the Cuban evening news program Mesa Redonda, Díaz-Canel again addressed the people, along with the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Economy.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz reviewed the technical problems that had produced power outages, reiterating that the problems were caused by the intensification of the blockade, which was blocking Cuban purchase of parts necessary for routine maintenance of the electricity system. He asserted that the problems are being addressed, and the system should be back to full operation this week. He further observed that in the future the system will be operating with a reserve of megawatts, so that in any situation in which demand exceeds the capacity of the system to generate electricity, a stoppage would be planned, rather than spontaneous. At the same time, he asserted that the electricity system is moving toward normalcy, in which there are no power stoppages.
The Prime Minister also evaluated the progress of the Covid vaccination program. He noted that nearly two million persons had received all three doses of the Cuban vaccine, and he noted that Cuba has surpassed the world average with respect to the percentage of the population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine. And he pointed out that the efficacy of the Cuban vaccine is among the highest in the world. He further explained that, as a result of recent analysis of the vaccination program, Cuba is accelerating its vaccination plan, such that 60% of the population will be vaccinated by the end of August, and the entire population will be vaccinated by the end of the year.
With respect to the impact of the intensification of the blockade on the availability of medicine, the Prime Minister pointed out that 365 of 619 medicines distributed in Cuban pharmacies are produced by the Cuban pharmaceutical industry, which in many cases depend on the importation of raw materials; and 254 medicines are imported entirely. There has been a shortage due in part to the restrictions on Cuban financial transactions. But in addition, many providers that Cuba has used for years do not have available the medicines and raw materials that they previously supplied, because of the demands caused by the global pandemic; and because in some cases, previous providers have decided not to supply because of pressures related to the intensification of the blockade. The Prime Minister noted that the Cuban pharmaceutical industry and its system of public health are searching for alternatives.
The Prime Minister also announced the elimination of limits on the importation of foods, personal hygiene items, and medicines by Cuban international travelers who function as small-scale retailers. And he announced a flexibilization in the distribution of the monthly basket of highly subsidized foods, so the people can attain it even when they are not living in the province of their legal residence.
Alejandro Gil, Minister of the Economy, reported on the progress of two important measures that have been unfolding as part of the social and economic plan. The first measure involved giving state enterprises more autonomy, so that they can strengthen the link between productivity and salary. Gil believes that this measure will make state enterprises much more dynamic. And the second measure intends to strengthen the management of small companies, both state-owned and privately-owned.
Díaz-Canel described the events of Sunday, June 11, as minor events by global standards; and he noted that Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday have been without incident. These events are the result of a deliberate plan, in accordance with the strategies of the non-conventional war and the manuals of the “soft coup.” The blockade of sixty years has been strengthened with 243 measures imposed by the Trump administration, preserved by the Biden administration, which has led to some dissatisfaction that the media campaign has tried to exploit.
Highlights of Díaz-Canel’s comments follow.
We hope for a civilized relation with the United States, but seeing the dissatisfactions and the situation of the pandemic, they have decided that it is now or never. So they are responding to the aspirations of the conservative sector, and they are applying the strategy of the soft coup against our country.
We always have been blockaded. But the present conditions are not the same as the Special Period, in response to which we developed our capacity to produce petroleum, and we invested in tourism. The intensification of the blockade by the Trump administration has suffocated the sources of income that we have been developing since the Special Period, and it has suffocated our potential for development. In this moment we face a situation in which our lists of needs is greater than our income. A practical example. We have to decide between a ship containing food and a ship containing petroleum. We decided on the ship and we made payment, but upon arriving, the company informed us it would not deliver, because the necessary financial services were not available. This type of thing happens every day. However, all the comrades in the government have a tremendous desire and commitment that the economy develop, so that we arrive to the prosperity that we desire.
But this blockade overcomes what we desire to do. The blockade does not permit us to advance at the velocity we need. Although we solve problems, the problems accumulate faster that our resolutions. This provokes a lack of understanding and disconformity and affects the aspiration of the people.
This is why I always say that the blockade is cruel and low, to be attacked in this manner by a powerful country for our aspirations for a better world. We have no doubt that if we were left alone, we would be able to develop the prosperous economy that we desire. And if we were to develop economic prosperity, we would be able to advance the tremendous social work that the revolution has begun. We have made great strides in developing a revolutionary social work, in spite of the economy being always blockaded.
For example, we have developed five vaccines. Why were we obligated to make our own vaccines? In the first place, because we did not have the money to buy the vaccines from another country. The blockade tries to choke our sovereignty, so we have to learn to develop things for ourselves. And we were able to develop the vaccines because of the work of the revolution in developing a social work and scientific development. Developing our own vaccine was really the only option, and we have done it in the context of the worst situation with respect to the pandemic, the blockade, and the financial persecution.
Let us speak of the disturbances. In the first place, we have to critically analyze our problems, so that we can act to prevent something like this from being repeated. Among the participants in the disturbances, we are able to distinguish among four types. First, there are persons that respond to foreign plans, who are irreconcilably opposed to the Cuban revolution, who do not think as Cubans, who think according to the designs of the empire. Secondly, there are some who have a history of delinquent and criminal conduct. Thirdly, there are unsatisfied persons, who have had another form to express their dissatisfaction, but joined in this activity when it presented itself. Their dissatisfactions are legitimate; they have aspirations, and they did not always receive adequate attention. And fourthly, young people, who do not represent the youth of Cuba, who are constantly engaging in tasks to confront the pandemic, united with their people.
[A video shows a group of people breaking into a store and looting.] Look at the manner in which they are acting; look at the disorder; this is defended as supposedly a demonstration, but it is not a peaceful protest.
There are fractures in our institutions with respect to certain social problems. These are things that we have to improve. We have to improve social programs with respect to vulnerable neighborhoods. We have to identify where there are children in dysfunctional families. We have to integrate out school system with programs of social attention. We have to strengthen rehabilitation programs in our prisons, and we have to reincorporate freed prisoners in our society in the most humanist manner possible.
In addition, we have to respond to the problems of the people more quickly and with more sensitivity. We have to demonstrate that we want to resolve their problems. We have to attend to the problems that provoke dissatisfaction. We have to attend to the problems with sensitivity. We have to make concrete the humanist vocation of the revolution. We have to reinvigorate participation in the mass organizations.
In the events on Sunday, there was one death. Various people were injured, mostly revolutionaries who interceded in defense of order. There were material damages to institutions. This is not the way to resolve problems.
[A video of events is showed]. These people were armed and shouting death to revolutionaries and communists; planning to assault public places; breaking glass; robbing stores; a savage comportment. And these people also were manipulated. They went directly to take a police station, with the belief that a North American ship would be arriving to support them. Look, there are some young people, who have every opportunity for education and advance, and they comport themselves in this manner.
Although I have noted that we need to improve our social attention, I also need to point out that these people have committed acts against our Constitution, which ought to be respected, because it was approved [in 2019] by more than 86% of the people. Some of these persons are going to receive the energetic response of our legal system, with full respect for their rights, and in consideration of individual circumstances. I also want to point out that the intervention of revolutionary citizens and the police forces to counteract these events was legitimate. If these persons had not been constrained, a generalized violence and disorder would have occurred, disrupting the tranquility to which Cubans are accustomed. We would never permit that.
These events call us to deepen our revolution. To prevent that people like these can be manipulated by foreigners who want to annex our country. Our mass organizations and institutions have to respond to the needs of the neighborhoods.
Those who find that their needs are not being met have the right to express themselves peacefully. They have the right to go to the institutions that ought to attend to them. But they cannot comport themselves with such vandalism.
Those who have opportunistically taken advantage of this situation do not have a solution to any of the problems; they have no commitment to overcoming the problems. They do want to help the people; they want to provoke social discontent and a conflict that would lead to destabilization, in accordance with the manuals of the “soft coup.”
They have undertaken an enormous media campaign. If one does not have conviction or firmness, it will trap you. Everything that they have expressed with relation to Cuba is totally absurd. They have made totally false claims and have created false images, ridiculous images. What slander! How dishonorable! How could people become so undignified as to support a cause like that!
I have always supported the Cuban process of expanding access to Internet. But I have always said that the Internet has to promote culture and share knowledge. But the way we are using Internet in this moment, with the social media, is really poisonous and dehumanizing. It provokes much anguish with so many lies. And I believe it is an expression mediatic terrorism, because it is calling to kill, to lynch, and to assassinate in order to create insecurity.
In Cuba today, we continue defending our sovereignty and our revolution.
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