• Statement by the Revolutionary Government

Girón, today and forever!

As long as there is a woman and a man willing to give their life for the Revolution, we’ll be victorious!

Cuba lives under the constant siege of the United States government, whose threats have escalated in recent months. Adding to the ruthless energy siege—which has worsened the genocidal blockade policy over the past six decades—are statements by representatives of the U.S. governmental elite threatening military aggression.

The human and material cost of that blockade is a shame borne by the greatest empire in history.

This act—condemned every year by the vast majority of United Nations member states—is illegal and inhumane, as it violates international law. Moreover, recent polls show that it is largely opposed by U.S. citizens.

In the face of collective punishment, the Cuban people demonstrate the noblest and most admirable examples of resistance. Since the signing of the executive order on January 29, their response—while continuing to face daily challenges of scarcity—has become even more stoic.

Amid such urgencies many lies have arisen to discredit Cuba and its government. The dominant media machine is waging an underhanded war against us, one filled with exaggerations, lies, and slander, which never points to the true cause of the situation and instead blames the Revolutionary Government for the crisis that is being deliberately and cold-bloodedly pushed by those who attack us.

They resort to such mendacious pretexts as claiming that our country poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security or that it has been designated as a state that allegedly sponsors terrorism.

This reveals the hypocrisy of the executioner, whose intentions are described in the memorandum by Under Secretary of State Lester Mallory, dated as early as April 6, 1960, in the revolutionary process, when he expresses in very clear terms the true nature of his criminal policy:

…to employ rapidly all possible means to weaken the economic life of Cuba. (…) A course of action that, while being as skillful and discreet as possible, achieves the greatest progress in depriving Cuba of money and supplies, to reduce its financial resources and real wages, provoke hunger, despair, and the overthrow of the government.

This harassment has also extended to the realm of Cuba’s bilateral relations with other countries. The United States exerts constant pressure on governments in the region, not only to sever diplomatic ties with the island, but also to abandon their own people by expelling health professionals who have for years been a source of hope for the poorest.

Isolating us is also part of their strategy; however, there are pillars of dignity in the world—peoples and governments that refuse to bow down. There are the examples of Mexico, Russia, China, Vietnam, and other sister nations.

There are the members of the Nuestra América Convoy, who, defying threats, pressure, and risks, in a symbolic gesture, decided to offer us, beyond material aid, their support; reaffirming Martí’s maxim that “whoever stands with Cuba today stands with it for all time.”

Heirs to a historic legacy, with the blood of the mambises and rebels in our veins, honouring the example and courage of the heroes and martyrs of the Fatherland—such as the 32 brave Cuban combatants who fell in Venezuela and the young people who thwarted the terrorist infiltration through Villa Clara—we affirm today that Cuba will never be a trophy, nor just another star in the U.S. constellation.

We are a nation with a great history and convictions to defend; a nation of peaceful, united men and women; a people who, through their daily work, vindicate Cuba; and who, just as on the sands of Playa Girón 65 years ago, under the cry of “Fatherland or Death!”, will achieve victory in defense of sovereignty and socialism.

In the year marking the centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, the architect of the first major defeat of U.S. imperialism in the Americas; and with the privilege that Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, standing firm alongside his people, remains at the helm; we ratify the call for national and international mobilization issued on April 16 by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and we reaffirm his words:

“As long as there is a woman or a man willing to give their life for the Revolution, we will be victorious! The socialist character of our Revolution is not a phrase from the past; it is the shield of the present and the guarantee of the future!

“Girón is today and forever!”

(Cubaminrex-Presidency)