Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves’ invariable opposition to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States on the Greater Antilles nation was honoured on the day that SVG and Cuba marked the thirtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Gonsalves was presented with the Order of Jose Marti on Thursday. This also coincided with the Prime Minister’s defence of the humane and supportive work that the Cuban medical brigades perform.
With this decoration, the highest awarded by Cuba, Gonsalves’s leadership and activism against the injustices of colonialism and the demand for compensation for the horrors of slavery were also distinguished.
The St Vincent Prime Minister’s ideas in defence of peoples, self-determination, sovereignty and independence, and contribution to ALBA-TCP and other regional integration and cooperation mechanisms were also recognized.
Gonsalves explained that he is grateful and humbled to receive this award on behalf of the Caribbean community and his country. Regarding the Order, he said, “it belongs to our Caribbean people, not to me.”
He reaffirmed, on behalf of the Caribbean and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, his love for Marti, for Fidel, for the Cuban Revolution, and for its people. “This love will never be erased,” he explained.
He paid tribute to José Marti on Thursday with a floral offering at the National Monument in the Plaza de la Revolución.
