Cuba leads attack on US over 50-year blockade

Published on 03/10/2012 00:00

Cuba’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly yesterday that America is keeping Cuba on its list of states that sponsor terrorism in order to justify its continuing embargo.

Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said the list’s purpose is “to fabricate pretexts to increase the persecution of Cuba’s financial transactions and justify the blockade policy which has caused invaluable human and economic damage”.

He said Cuba remains ready to normalise relations with the US and criticised Washington’s 50-year embargo, imposed after the failed CIA sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 by president John F Kennedy in 1962.

Mr Rodriguez also accused the US and “some” European governments of seeking to overthrow the Syrian government, saying the US and its allies have “armed, financed and trained opposition groups, and resorted to using mercenaries”.

Other Latin American officials emphasised the region’s rise against US domination.

Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil all have leftist rulers.