The President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, ministers of foreign affairs, and heads of delegations of member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), gathered in the Cuban capital for the organization’s XVIII Political Council, which concluded with the approval of a Final Declaration in which they express concern over the aggressive escalation against Our America, moves against regional peace and security, and especially the threats of the use of force against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The declaration states that these threats constitute a menace to regional peace, and go against the precepts contained in the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, while highlighting the resistance of the Venezuelan government and people in the face of foreign interference and unilateral coercive measures against the country.
Likewise, reiterated is support for constitutional President Nicolás Maduro Moros, the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution, and the civic-military union. The “Montevideo Mechanism” initiative is endorsed, while the inviolability of diplomatic missions, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, is underlined.
The document ratifies the support of ALBA-TCP member countries for the Nicaraguan Government of Reconciliation and National Unity’s dialogue and negotiation process, and the rejection of the interventionist moves of the U.S. government and the Organization of American States (OAS).
Likewise condemned is the Monroe Doctrine, an outdated reflection of the United States’ hegemonic and imperialist ambition over the lands and peoples of the Americas. Furthermore, the text calls for the support of the international community for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba, and the recent decision of the U.S. government to activate Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.
The need to strengthen the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) as a mechanism for regional political coordination was also addressed. The declaration supports Bolivia as CELAC president pro tempore, and reiterates the support to the people and government of the Plurinational State for sovereign access to the sea.
In addition, ALBA-TCP member countries welcomed the approval of the new Constitution of the Republic of Cuba.
ALBA-TCP members condemned the measures adopted against Caribbean countries, considering them non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, while at the same time supporting their claim for reparations and restorative justice for the genocide of their native populations and the horrors of slavery.
The document approved in Havana also welcomes the upcoming XXV Meeting of the São Paulo Forum, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 25 through 28, a space that will contribute to the constant dialogue between the region’s progressive political forces and social movements.
The XVIII Political Council also defended the holding of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau Ministerial Meeting, in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, July 20 through 21, 2019.
ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary, David Choquehuanca, highlighted on closing the meeting that this regional integration mechanism has to grow with its own identity and decolonizing thought, to allow the culture of life and peace to prevail.
He stressed that we must defend and build the noble path of integration, of those who seek justice and truth; look out for each other, and work together against neoliberalism, war and the plundering of our resources; and thus defend sovereignty, peace and integration in the face of domination and subjugation.
