Appeals Raise Funds for Emergency Medical Aid to Cuba in Aftermath of Hurricane Melissa

By Mark Satinoff

NEW YORK CITY, October 29, 2025 — The world has spoken. An overwhelming majority of United Nations (UN) member states voted for the 33^rd time at the UN General Assembly to demand an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba. The resolution on the “necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” passed with 165 votes in favor, 7 against, and 12 abstentions.

For more than three decades, nearly every government represented at the international body has voted every year in favor of Cuba’s resolution. Only the U.S. and Israeli governments have consistently opposed it. The small uptick in ‘no’ votes and abstentions this year reflects a more aggressive posture by Washington to recruit new allies to its side through the use of threats, coercion, and blackmail.

In his remarks to the General Assembly before the vote, Cuba’s minister of foreign affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla noted, “Over the last few weeks, there has been a brutal and unprecedented deployment of pressure, intimidation and toxicity by the State Department at a planetary level to force sovereign states to change their vote on the resolution that we will adopt today. They have resorted to all of their weapons and tricks, especially coercion, but the truth, law, reason, and justice are always far more powerful and overwhelming.”

The representative of Poland, speaking on behalf of Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, as well as his own government, told the assembly the group would abstain, citing Cuba’s alleged support of “Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine.” He echoed one of Washington’s charges, accusing Havana of “turning a blind eye on the active participation of its nationals in an illegal war of aggression… we refer specifically to the large number of Cuban nationals who are participating in ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine just across our borders.”

On October 11, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MinRex) had issued a statement rejecting these very allegations as “slanderous.” It pointed out that since these accusations were first made in 2023 no evidence or substantiation has been offered.

Through its own investigation, the Cuban government has confirmed there have been Cubans fighting in the war — on both sides, but that they are acting on their own initiative. “None of them [Cuban nationals] acts with the encouragement, commitment, or consent of the Cuban State,” MinRex stated. “The Cuban Government maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward mercenarism, human trafficking, and the participation of its nationals in any armed confrontation in another country — all of which constitute serious crimes subject to severe penalties under national law.”

The MinRex statement further indicated that, beginning in 2023, when Cubans were first detected in the conflict in Ukraine, “steps were taken to neutralize recruitment within the national territory, and criminal proceedings were initiated accordingly.”

According to MinRex, Cuban courts have handled nine criminal cases for mercenary activity involving 40 defendants. Eight of these cases have gone to trial and five guilty verdicts handed down against 26 defendants. The Cuban courts imposed sentences from five to 14 years in prison. Three cases await the court’s judgment, and one case is pending trial.

U.S. gov’t calls blockade ‘fake news’

Washington claims there is no blockade, or embargo against Cuba, despite it having been codified by a myriad of U.S. laws and regulations over more than 60 years. For example, the stated goal of both the Helms-Burton Act and the Torricelli law is to strangle the Cuban economy by cutting off its ability to carry out normal financial relations around the world. This makes the import of fuel, medicine, machinery, and other essential commodities difficult and, in many cases, impossible.

During his first term in office, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 243 sanctions, which were kept in place by his successor, Joe Biden, who only removed Cuba from the spurious State Sponsors of Terrorism List (SSOT) in the final hours of his administration. On the first day of his second term, Trump doubled down by placing Cuba back on the SSOT list.

The goal of this tightening noose is “regime change” — the undermining and overthrow of the government — by inflicting ever increasing suffering on the Cuban people. This strategy of economic warfare and immiseration traces its roots to the infamous 1960 memorandum by then-U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state Lester Mallory. His memo stated that the objective was to cause internal rebellion “through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship.”

In his address to the UN delegates Rodríguez called the blockade “a policy of collective punishment. It qualifies as an act of genocide. It flagrantly, massively and systematically violates the human rights of Cubans.

“Between March 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, the blockade caused Cuba some $7.5 billion in material damage,” Rodríguez added. “This is an impact similar to the national gross domestic product of at least 30 countries that are represented here according to World Bank data.

“But the damage of the blockade cannot only be seen in figures and material damage,” he continued. “Rather, we see it in the daily lives of our citizens. No one, no family or sector, escapes its daily devastating effects.”

Rodríguez emphatically countered the lies of U.S. ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz, calling his remarks “infamous, threatening, arrogant, deceitful, and cynical.” Taking a point of order during the U.S. representative’s speech, Rodríguez said that Waltz had insulted the dignity of the General Assembly and its member countries with his arrogance and lack of civility. “Mr. Waltz, this is the General Assembly of the United Nations; it is not a Signal chat nor is it the House of Representatives,” Rodríguez said.

‘Cuba will not surrender’

Representatives from around the world spoke out in favor of Cuba’s resolution. The ambassador from Barbados, representing the 14 members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), called the U.S. embargo “a clear violation of the UN charter and international law.”

Iraq’s representative, speaking for the G77, a coalition of developing countries, and China, said, “Thanks to the efforts made by Cuba, many countries within the group have developed their scientific and technical potential. We therefore appeal to the international community to step up in its effort calling for the elimination of the embargo.”

Speaking on behalf of the 121 countries in the Non-Aligned Movement, Uganda’s delegate said, “The direct and indirect damage inflicted by the embargo against Cuba is enormous. It affects all sectors of the economy.”

Even though the U.S. government managed to sway a few more countries than usual this year, Cuba will not change its fortitude and determination, the country’s foreign minister explained.

“Cuba will not surrender,” Rodríguez said. “We will persist in speaking out against the infamy. We will exercise decisively our right to decide on our own fate. We will continue in our efforts to overcome the current difficulties and to ensure the economic sustainability of the country, even with the continuation or even with the subsequent strengthening of the blockade.”

Harlem rally: ‘End blockade; take Cuba off terrorist list’

On October 26, three days before the UN vote, the New York/New Jersey Cuba Sí Coalition held a rally in Harlem, in the heart of Manhattan, to bring public attention to the debate and upcoming vote at the General Assembly. Speakers at the rally called for an end to the U.S. blockade and removal of Cuba from the state terrorism list.

In her opening remarks, Rosemari Mealy, co-chair of the Harlem-Cuba Welcome Committee, pointed out that the protest was being held across the street from the Hotel Theresa, where a historic meeting between Malcolm X and Fidel Castro took place 65 years ago.

That event “began a friendship that continues today between not only just the peoples of Cuba and African Americans in the United States,” Mealy said. “It represented the coming together of Africa, the Caribbean, and the entire world because those two leaders showed the importance of what unity meant.”

Mealy explained, “Six days under the blockade is equal to the funding required to import a year’s worth of consumables such as cotton gauze sutures, catheters, and IV equipment, among other health supplies.” The UN assessed the damage to the Cuban economy for just one year —2022 to 2023 — to be $4.87 billion and in 2023 estimated the total economic damage to the Cuban economy since 1960 to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Broad community solidarity with Cuba

Almost 70 people, representing a broad range of community and political groups, as well as individual activists, participated in the rally in solidarity with Cuba and in defense of other countries in Latin America that are under renewed military threat by Washington. Entertainment was provided by the spoken word group Harlem Bomb Shelter. Young artists from the community chalked slogans against the blockade on the sidewalk.

Although not a project of Cuba Sí, a giant illuminated sign in Times Square was an example of how one group got out the message about the blockade.

New York state senator Cordell Cleare, a longtime outspoken opponent of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, said, “It’s time for this blockade to end. It’s not fair that just because the U.S. doesn’t like what I do it means you can tell ME what to do or what freedoms I have! I stand with you here today, all of you, and I am looking forward to any more actions we can take.”

Speaking on behalf of Carlota’s Warriors, Sohini Das told the crowd, “For over 60 years, the Cuban medical brigades have been providing key health care to more than 160 countries around the world… providing eye care, lifesaving surgeries, medicine, quality healthcare, doctors, and infrastructure that wouldn’t be otherwise available.”

Named for a Cuban of Yoruba descent who co-led a slave revolt in 1843, Carlota’s Warriors was formed by a group of young people who traveled to Cuba last December for the International Decade for the People of African Descent conference. “We believe it is not only important to defend the sovereignty of Cuba and the medical brigades,” Das explained, “but also the sovereignty of those nations who choose to make these agreements to provide health care for their people.”

Puerto Rican activist Ed Ventura of the Bronx chapter of Juventud Unida por la Independencia (Youth United for Independence) also addressed the rally. “Our movement has been born from the fire of a dream that has burned for generations — a dream of sovereignty, dignity, and ultimately, a free, independent, and socialist Puerto Rico.”

“I’m here to tell you that a large reason that this dream lives on,” Ventura said, “is because of the unwavering fight, influence, and support of Cuba… Cuba has been a beacon for our cause…

“We remember the words of Jose Marti, who taught us that a just principle from the depths of a cave is more powerful than an army. Fidel [Castro] said, ‘We shall never desert our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters, even if there are no relations with the U.S. for 100 years,’” said Ventura. “We will continue to stand and fight with you as you have done for us.”

‘We need to be in the streets’

William Camacaro of the Venezuela Solidarity Network spoke about the gunboat terrorism the U.S. government is pursuing against Caribbean and Latin American countries. The threat of a ground invasion of Venezuela grows stronger every day, he explained. As of October 30, at least 15 small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have been blasted to smithereens, killing more than 60 people, on the pretext of unverified U.S. claims they were transporting drugs from Venezuela to the U.S.

Washington is amassing its military power in the area. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, accompanied by its escort of five guided-missile destroyers, is steaming to the region. This armada will add around 5,000 sailors to the 10,000 troops that have already been deployed to the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, the State Department has doubled the bounty on Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, to $50 million.

“The Trump administration is looking to reconquer South America,” said Camacaro. He drew a parallel between the attacks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on immigrants in the United States and U.S. attacks in South America. “We need to be ready. We need to be in the streets to support Venezuela, to support Cuba,” he said, “to support all those countries that are fighting for their freedom.”

Suzanne Adely, president of the National Lawyers Guild, described her organization’s long history in solidarity with Cuba.

“We fought for the defense of the Cuban Five and we have raised the flag against the blockade for decades,” Adely said. “A few years ago, we took a close look and held hearings on the impact of the blockade and what we can honestly say is that the blockade is a slow form of genocide against the Cuban people. We need to demand that the General Assembly overrule the power of the Security Council and enforce the vote to lift the blockade immediately.”

Help send supplies to Cuba to counter hurricane impact

Adding to the grind of the U.S. economic war, one of the most powerful hurricanes in history made landfall in Cuba just hours before the UN vote. The electrical grid, buildings, and roads have sustained extensive damage, but so far there are no reports of fatalities. 

Cuba has decades of experience facing hurricanes. Its civil defense system is organized to evacuate masses of people in vulnerable communities in an organized and safe manner and accordingly is recognized as a global model. But Cuba’s ability to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Melissa is severely hampered by constraints placed on it by the blockade.

Fund appeals are already under way to send urgently needed medical supplies to Cuba. One is organized by the Pan-American Medical Association, another by a coalition of groups spearheaded by The People’s Forum, and a third by Code Pink.

“Melissa struck with fury. We respond with solidarity,” says the appeal by the Pan-American Medical Association.

“At the end of October, Hurricane Melissa tore through eastern Cuba as a Category 4 storm, with winds reaching 135 mph. Entire provinces, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma, and Guantánamo — are devastated. Families are displaced. Clinics are overwhelmed. The storm has passed, but the emergency has only begun.

“This is not just a natural disaster. It’s a rupture in an already fragile system. Cuba’s hospitals were already short on sutures, antibiotics, and basic wound care. Now, they face a surge of trauma patients with no supplies to treat them.”

World-Outlook encourages its readers to donate.

If you appreciate this article, subscribe to World-Outlook (for free) by clicking on the link below.

Type your email in the box below and click on “SUBSCRIBE.” You will receive a notification in your in-box on which you will have to click to confirm your subscription.