The Cuban leader was reacting, on his Twitter account, to plans announced by the impostor Juan Guaidó, under U.S. guidance, directing his venom against a channel that carries the message of our peoples around the world and expresses the views of those resisting efforts to subvert progressive governments and derail integrationist projects.

Guaidó is the same Venezuelan congressman who posed and signed photos revealing his ties with the paramilitary group Los Rastrojos, and who just recently, in a real performance, was seen trying to scale the fence of the National Assembly headquarters in Caracas, then playing the victim, said he wasn’t let in.

Rightly so, teleSUR president Patricia Villegas responded to his threats to block the channel’s transmissions, stating, “The deputy is talking about something he knows nothing about, and clearly does not understand.”

In his recent display of bravado, Guaidó threatened to “take teleSur off the air,” attacking the channel founded in 2005 by Bolivarian leader Hugo Chávez, which broadcasts the voices of countries of the South, answering the avalanche of lies that are transmitted every day by the corporate media at the service of the United States government and local oligarchies.

Of course, teleSUR hurts the United States government, which provides millions of dollars to disrupt the unity of nations in a region that the empire considers its backyard. That is why one of the first targets of the neoliberal administrations that have managed to gain power again in our region has been the international broadcaster – as seen in Macri’s Argentina, in Ecuador where the population is resisting government measures, and in the Bolivia now run by the coup plotters who ousted Evo Morales.

Our peoples know that teleSUR means unity, unquestionable truth, genuine culture, not propaganda at the service of corporations and foreign interests that seek to divide and enslave.

(Granma)

Journalist Patricia Villegas of the multinational channel teleSUR, founded precisely as a voice for progressive movements of Our America and the rest of the world, and as an alternative to mass hegemonic media, conversed with the Cuban President in the Palace of the Revolution.

Díaz-Canel explained that his four months in the post, following his appointment by the National Assembly on April 19, have offered a wealth of experiences.

He noted that Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba’s speech at the close of the Constituent Session of the 9th Legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power has served as a guide for the actions he has taken since assuming the presidency.

Following extensive analysis in the Council of Ministers, some of the key elements of government identified were the need to be in constant proximity to the population, tackling bureaucracy and bringing government closer to the people, requiring leaders to use the media and information technologies effectively, especially as regards social media.

Díaz-Canel stressed that the Cuban press has defended the Revolution with great professionalism and efficiency, but that at times the public agenda has not been effectively reflected.

He noted that it is increasingly important, especially given the extensive use of social media by younger generations, to “flood” these spaces with content that counterpoises that which distorts the Cuban reality.

The President was emphatic in defining the problem that most impacts the daily life of Cubans and the economic and social development of the country: the blockade. He described the hostile U.S. policy, imposed for more than half a century, as a brutal practice, and explained that it has been significantly tightened, especially under the Trump administration.

“We want to live in the normal conditions of a country, we are not a threat to anyone, all we want is to build a better country, a better world… greater social justice and the main threat to achieving this remains the brutal blockade,” he remarked.

The President went on to respond to questions regarding the updating of Cuba’s Constitution, which currently sees the island engaged in a nationwide popular consultation process.

(Granma)