Barcelona, Spain — Mexico, Brazil and Spain expressed concern over the “dramatic situation” in Cuba, which has faced mounting pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, as the countries said they would send aid to the Caribbean nation.
Without explicitly mentioning the United States, the three leftist-led countries expressed “deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian crisis that the people of Cuba are enduring and call for the adoption of necessary measures to alleviate this situation”.
In a joint statement, the countries called for a “sincere and respectful dialogue” in line with international law.
The purpose of such dialogue should be to “find a lasting solution to the current situation and to ensure that it is the Cuban people themselves who decide their own future in full freedom,” the statement added.
The appeal came after Mexico, Brazil and Spain said they would send aid to Cuba at a summit of leftist leaders which took place on Saturday in Barcelona.
The summit was led by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of the biggest critics of the United States and Israel’s bombing campaigns in the Middle East.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were among the attendees, who called for efforts to “protect democracy.”
Cuba has been bracing for a possible military attack following repeated warnings from Trump that the Communist-run state is “next” after he toppled Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and went to war against Iran.
Trump has imposed an oil blockade of Cuba, worsening the island’s worst economic and energy crisis in decades.
Opponents of the Cuban government were swift to criticize the joint statement.
“These three leaders, who have been questioned in their own countries for their own autocratic style of rule and corruption, have failed to talk about human rights abuses in Cuba which contravene international law,” Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders International, a Madrid-based campaign group which fights for human rights in Cuba, told Latin America Reports.
Featured image: Leftist leaders gathered in Barcelona, Spain on April 18 for the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy.
Image credit: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva via X.
