Cuba’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ana Silvia Rodríguez, stated that the Pastors for Peace solidarity caravan this year is of great relevance, since it is taking place during a difficult period for relations between Cuba and the United States, amidst escalating U.S. sanctions on Cuba.
According to Prensa Latina, the work of Caravan participants is sending a clear message to the United States and the rest of the world, challenging the hostile policies of the current administration, the Cuban diplomat said during a solidarity event held in New York.
Anti-Cuban leaders have learned nothing over these years of resistance, she added, our people will not surrender to pressure or threats. Now Washington is tightening the siege of Cuba, increasing aggressive measures, re-activating the Helms-Burton Act’s Title III, for example.
Restrictions on travel to the island have been increased, “Perhaps they are afraid that the U.S. people will learn the true reality of my country,” the ambassador observed.
Since 1992, when the Pastors for Peace Caravans began, Caravan organizers and participants have faced the harassment of the different U.S. administrations and forces hostile to the normalization of relations between the two countries. Caravan activists have overcome thousands of obstacles, making great sacrifices to deliver solidarity support to Cuba, recalled Rodríguez, Cuba’s alternate permanent representative to the United Nations.
The executive director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization-Pastors for Peace, Gail Walker, noted that the solidarity work they do allows them to debunk misinformation and lies spread by the Donald Trump administration.
The Caravan’s travels around the continental U.S. are taking place early in June this year, rescheduled to better meet their goals since the Venceremos Brigade organized by U.S. and Puerto Rican activists will be in Cuba to commemorate its 50th anniversary in July, she reported.
The travel license system imposed by the White House is meant to “control what we do, where we go (…), so we will travel without a license, love is our only license,” Walker insisted.
“Ours is a labor of love toward our friends in Cuba, reflecting our commitment to the cause of ending the blockade,” she concluded.
In addition to bringing solidarity aid to Cuba, the Pastors for Peace caravans, under the guidance of the unforgettable Reverend Lucius Walker, was founded with the objective of challenging the economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba, which the U.S. has maintained for almost 60 years.