The small island nation of Cuba has been facing a severe humanitarian and economic crisis as a result of the genocidal blockade implemented by the United States government since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959. As a result of this, life on the island has become a daily struggle of survival. Basic food and essential supplies are not readily available, medical services are disrupted with hundreds of thousands of patients experiencing delays and waitlists and a severe shortage of fuel disrupts daily life. All of these hardships are caused by the economic warfare being waged by the United States government against Cuba in order to overthrow its revolution and capture its sovereignty.
In January 2026, the US government heightened its aggression by implementing an energy blockade, prohibiting all countries from exporting fuel to Cuba through intimidation and coercion. During a recent campaign rally in South Florida, President Trump threatened Cuba, stating that the ships returning from Iran would “do a little stopover in Cuba”. His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, publicly urged Cubans to collaborate with the CIA to remove the Cuban government in a post published on his X account.
The upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote on October 27–28, 2026, represents another annual debate regarding the blockade on Cuba. For the 34th consecutive year, the UNGA is considering a non-binding resolution titled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”. The UNGA first voted on a resolution to end the blockade in 1992. Since then, the vote has yielded an overwhelming global consensus against the U.S. position. Despite this fact, Cuba has continued to be economically asphyxiated by this US implemented blockade. International law and procedures have given no material respite to the suffering of the Cuban people.
As US imperialism heightens its aggression against the Republic of Cuba, Africans and all justice loving people of the world must also heighten their efforts to defend Cuba. We must move beyond speeches and condemnations and begin to demonstrate concrete material support for the Republic of Cuba.
As African people, we are indebted to Cuba for its decades-long concrete display of solidarity with our continent. Despite the hardships of the blockade, Cuba has stood by Africa on many fronts. Cuba sent military missions to Ghana (1961) and Algeria (1962) following the independence of these countries. In 1965, the great revolutionary fighter, Che Guevara personally led over 100 Cuban troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo (1965) to support anti-colonial armed struggle. Over 500,000 Cuban troops participated in liberation struggles on the continent, most significantly in Angola (1975–1988) while also directly contributing to the independence of Namibia (1990) and the end of apartheid in South Africa (1994). Cuba provided shelter, financial aid, weapons, education, and military training to every single liberation movement in Africa.
Today, despite suffering under the weight of the imperialist blockade, Cuba has continued to display exemplary internationalism by providing concrete medical support and assistance in times of crisis. Cuba has trained thousands of African doctors, free of charge, through its Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). During the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, Cuba deployed 460 medical workers — more doctors than the entire G8 combined. At the height of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba dispatched hundreds of medical personnel to multiple African countries including South Africa, Angola and Cape Verde.
African people can not forget the great sacrifices the Cuban people made in the name of internationalism and the struggle against imperialism. Cuba’s solidarity towards Africa has never simply been in words and speeches, but in concrete actions that have greatly contributed to the African revolution.
While the Coalition for the Elimination of Imperialism in Africa acknowledges the importance of Africa’s consistent support of Cuba at the United Nations, we demand that African governments move beyond simple diplomatic gestures. The African continent must coordinate effective ways to bypass the criminal US blockade in order to bring material support to Cuba. We call on African heads of states across the continent to honor the significant sacrifices and contributions of the Cuban people from the days of our anti-colonial struggles until today by having the courage to stand by Cuba in these trying times in the same way that Cuba has always stood by Africa.
To the African masses, we call for continental-wide mass demonstrations of solidarity with the Republic of Cuba and sustained pressure on national governments to defy the blockade and provide material support to Cuba. We must demand that African governments find ways to deliver food, medical and energy supplies to the suffering Cuban people. Africans cannot continue to be mere witnesses to the economic and political asphyxiation of Cuba. We must act in defense of Cuba, the same way Cuba has always acted in our defense.
Long live the friendship between Africa and Cuba!
Down with US imperialism!