On January 25 Cuba’s President, Raúl Castro, expressed “Cuba’s willingness to continue negotiating pending bilateral issues with the [U.S.], on the basis of equality, reciprocity and respect for the sovereignty and independence of our country, and to continue the respectful dialogue and cooperation on issues of common interest with the new government of President Donald Trump.”[1]
Castro continued, “Cuba and the [U.S.] can cooperate and coexist in a civilized manner, respecting differences and promoting all that benefits both countries and peoples, but it should not be expected that to do so Cuba will make concessions inherent to its sovereignty and independence.”
On the other hand, he said, “The [U.S.] economic, commercial and financial blockade persists, which causes considerable hardships and human damages that severely harm our economy and hamper development. Despite this, we continue immersed in the updating of our economic and social model and we will continue to fight to build a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation.”
These comments were in the larger context of Castro’s speech at the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)[2] held in Bavaro, the Dominican Republic, when he said, “Never has it been more necessary to effectively advance along the path of unity, recognizing that we have many common interests. Working for ‘unity within diversity’ is an urgent need.”
“To achieve this, strict adherence to [the group’s previous proclamation] is required, in which we commit ourselves ‘to strict compliance with their obligation not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any other State,’ and to resolve differences in a peaceful manner, as well as to ‘fully respect the inalienable right of every State to choose its political, economic, social and cultural system.’”
“It would be desirable for the new [U.S.] government to opt for respect for the region, although it is a matter of concern that intentions have been declared that endanger our interests in the areas of trade, employment, migration and the environment, among others.”
Subsequently the Summit passed resolutions applauding the U.S. termination of its “dry foot/wet foot” immigration policy for Cuban migrants while also urging the U.S. Congress to repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act; condemning the U.S. embargo (blockade); and calling for the U.S. to return Guantanamo Bay to Cuba.[3]
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[1] Castro, Never has it been more necessary to effectively advance along the path of unity, Granma (Jan. 25, 2017); Reuters, Cuba’s Castro Warns Trump to Respect Country’s Sovereignty, N.Y. Times (Jan. 25, 2017); Assoc. Press, Castro: Cuba Can Work With Trump if Sovereignty Respected, N.Y. Times (Jan. 26, 2017).
[2] CELAC consists of 33 sovereign countries in the Americas representing roughly 600 million people and is seen as an alternative to the Organization of American States and U.S. influence in the region.
[3] Morales, Dialogue and political agreement on the basis of mutual trust, Granma (Jan. 26, 2017); Special Declaration on the need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States of America against Cuba, Granma (Jan. 26, 2017); Special Declaration: Return to the Republic of Cuba of the territory that occupies the naval base of the United States of America in Guantánamo, Granma (Jan. 26, 2017).
