By Assan Bah
The Cuban Ambassador to The Gambia, Carmelina Ramirez Rodriguez, has urged the Government of The Gambia and the international community to support Cuba’s upcoming resolution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), calling for an end to what she described as the United States’ continued economic, commercial, and financial blockade against her country.
Ambassador Rodriguez made the appeal on Tuesday 21st October 2025, during a press conference at the Cuban Embassy in Brufut, where she updated journalists on the situation in Latin America, particularly the strained relations between Cuba and the United States.
She said Cuba will present its position paper before the UNGA on October 28, seeking global support for the resolution against the blockade, which she described as “the longest and most unjust in human history.”
“The blockade is meant to kill our population and force Cuba to surrender, to impose a regime that suits the interests of the United States,” she said. “Cuba has suffered from this unjust policy for over 60 years. It violates international law and remains the main obstacle to our economic and social development.”
According to Ambassador Rodriguez, the blockade imposes a complex network of coercive laws that have restricted Cuba’s access to international trade, fuel, technology, raw materials, food, and medicine. These sanctions, she said, have had severe effects on key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and transportation.
She estimated that Cuba has lost $7.56 billion in damages, an increase of $2.49 billion compared to the 2023–2024 period, mainly due to reduced export revenues.
“No sector of our social or economic life escapes the effects of the blockade,” she lamented. “Two months of blockade equal the cost of fuel needed to meet our normal electricity demand, while five days equal the funds required to repair one thermoelectric plant.”
The Ambassador said the blockade has resulted in frequent power outages across the country, lasting four to six hours daily, and has severely restricted Cuba’s ability to conduct international financial transactions, as U.S. restrictions prevent access to dollars and international banking systems.
Ambassador Rodriguez also accused the United States of leading a propaganda campaign to discredit Cuba’s international medical brigades, including more than 100 Cuban doctors currently working in The Gambia.
“We have over 24,000 health workers serving in 56 countries,” she said. “They claim our medical missions are a form of human trafficking, which is untrue. Our doctors go where no one else will go, to save lives. Removing them is to deny people access to healthcare.”
She emphasized that Cuban medical professionals have played vital roles in global health crises, including during earthquakes, hurricanes, Ebola outbreaks, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuba Rejects Terrorism Designation
The Ambassador further condemned the Trump administration’s decision to include Cuba on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, calling the move “baseless and hypocritical.”
“Cuba has never sponsored terrorism; rather, it has been a victim of terrorism organized and financed by the U.S. government, which has killed more than 3,000 of our citizens,” she said.
She alleged that the designation was politically motivated to restrict Cuba’s access to international finance and foreign investment.
Ambassador Rodriguez called on world leaders to not only vote in favor of Cuba’s resolution at the UNGA but also to defend it during debates.
“The blockade affects every sector of Cuban society and our partners around the world,” she said. “Cuba seeks a normal relationship with the United States, without conditions, because we are an independent and sovereign state.”
She expressed gratitude to The Gambia for its longstanding solidarity with Cuba and reaffirmed her country’s commitment to international cooperation and global justice.
“Despite the pressure and crisis we face, Cuba will continue to honour its international commitments and defend the causes we believe in, Palestine, Western Sahara, and the unity of Latin America,” she said.
Ambassador Rodriguez concluded by expressing hope that the international community would once again overwhelmingly support Cuba’s resolution at the United Nations.
“It is neither legal nor ethical for a powerful nation to subject a small country to decades of economic warfare,” she said. “Our demand is simple: let Cuba live in peace.”
