The Black Alliance for Peace – New York City/New Jersey Citywide Alliance stands in unwavering solidarity with Cuba and denounces the criminal, six-decade-long economic blockade imposed by the United States government. The ongoing barbarity is a deliberate act of war meant to suffocate the Cuban Revolution and punish its people for daring to assert their national sovereignty. The recent, cruel escalation by the Trump administration—tightening sanctions and deliberately blocking vital oil shipments—is a calculated effort to inflict maximum suffering and break Cuba’s spirit through collective punishment.
For decades, the US has used its fickle definitions of “state-sanctioned terrorism” and violations of “human rights” to run cover for the suffering it inflicts on Cuba. But, we as African/Black people in the U.S. understand the truth, as it mirrors our own experiences: the Global South has no rights which this country is bound to respect, and can be justly and lawfully reduced to imperialist subjects for its benefit.
This ongoing atrocity should make everyone skeptical of what this empire considers human rights, as it is in direct conflict with the will of the Cuban masses, as well as all oppressed and colonized people globally. It is a slap in the face of the values of People(s)-Centered Human Rights, which prioritizes the right of communities and nations to self-determination, peace, and development free from imperialist aggression.
We recognize that this US siege disproportionately impacts African-descendant people in Cuba, who have been central to the nation’s culture and history of struggle. Cuba holds deep importance for African/Black people globally, serving as a symbol of resistance and resilience. It is a nation that has stood in immoveable solidarity with African liberation struggles, including those here in the US, offering internationalist support despite its own constraints. The US attack on Cuba is an attack on this legacy of dignity.
This moment demands we escalate our own organized, collective political action. We must build a region-wide wall of pressure to force the US to end the blockade against Cuba, as well as its parallel economic war and destabilization campaigns against other sovereign nations, like Venezuela. In the belly of this beast, it is our task to provide clarity and join forces with popular movements across the Americas. The only way forward is together. We will build a true Zone of Peace where the masses have the power to determine their own futures.
We must act now. Join the movement. Mobilize your communities. Struggle against the greatest international terrorist organization to ever exist.
Lift the blockade now! End the war on Cuba and the peoples of Our America!
source: Black Agenda Report
