Cuban Ambassador Thanks Belize for UN Support

The United States of America has voted once again to maintain its economic embargo on Cuba. The vote took place today at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. While one hundred and eighty-four countries, including Belize, voted for the embargo to be lifted, the U.S.A. and Israel voted against the UN’s call to end what has been in place for more than sixty years.  Today, Cuba’s Ambassador to Belize, Lissette Perez Perez told News Five that the lives of Cuban people have become even more difficult as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic with the economic embargo in place.

Lissette Perez Perez

Lissette Perez Perez, Ambassador of Cuba to Belize

“The international community, it overwhelming vote supports Cuba in our battle to put an end to the commercial, financial and economic embargo that the U.S. has on my country, on Cuba. It means that the sentiment of the international community is that the kind of policy should be removed, it should be lifted. I have to tell you that this claim is very important; it is crucial these days when Cuba, like other countries, is facing COVID-19. It has been a difficult time and we have been saying that during this time Cuba is suffering two pandemics; COVID-19 and the blockade. The blockade has all the restrictions that you can imagine so that our economy doesn’t receive any revenues.  Cuba has been in solidarity during this moment of COVID-19 but at the same time suffering more than other countries because this is a blockade that has been on my country for more than sixty years. Imagine what it means for a country that is prevented to receive remittances; prevented to receive investments; companies and individuals who travel or invest or have business with Cuba are punished for that reason. It’s a policy that’s very – It is genocide. It is a crime. It is genocide. In the new administration that assumed the government in January, they promised in their campaign to change this policy towards Cuba but nothing has been happened up to now. We are in the same situation. There are not any measures that you can say that there is any particular change in terms of the blockade. We want to live in peace and we want to live in an environment where there is no interference in the internal issues of other countries. It was the message the international community sent today at the seventy-fifth General Assembly Meeting. One hundred and eighty four countries voted on this resolution and it was supported by the overwhelming majority of the international community, including Belize. We want to express our appreciation to our friends in CARICOM. We are very grateful to Belize also.”