AS Trump has suggested Cuba will soon be his to take. It is not his to take and it should and must be left alone.
For the third time from the beginning of March the electricity supply has collapsed in Cuba leaving the island in total black-out. From 1962 there has been an unjust blockade on Cuba by the United States. Just last week three lads from Belfast from the hip-hop group Kneecap alongside Jeremy Corbyn travelled to Cuba with much-needed supplies, including medical supplies for the Cuban people – supplies they desperately need as Trump ups the blockade.
Ireland has a long friendship with Cuba. The Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara-Lynch had Irish ancestors and was inspired by Irish rebels. The late Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, often spoke out for a united Ireland and was also impressed by Irish rebels. In Havana, Cuba, there is a monument dedicated to Ireland’s political prisoners who died on hunger strike.
The reality is Trump wants Cuba not for the Cuban people. He is prepared to take Cuba against the will of the Cuban people. This is not about democracy, it is about greed and the destruction of Cuba.
For years many so-called socialists and liberals where extremely quiet on the blockade of Cuba, maybe now they will raise their voices against this unjust blockade and against the US agression against Cuba and its people. Hands off Cuba.
Seán Óg Garland,
Belfast 10
