Caribbean countries have expressed a firm and courageous position in relation to Cuba for five decades and faced pressures from third parties to isolate Cuba.

By Roberto Morejón

Caribbean countries have expressed a firm and courageous position in relation to Cuba for five decades and faced pressures from third parties to isolate Cuba.

Speaking at the 8th CARICOM-Cuba Summit in Barbados, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted that quality of the bloc's nations.

The dignitary expressed his gratitude for what he called the courage of the Caribbean states in the face of U.S. hostility towards medical collaboration in the region.

Although the administrations of the North American country obsessively undertook to undermine the prestige of the assistance provided by the largest of the Antilles in the face of basic health needs, the region was not intimidated and maintained that cooperation.

More than two thousand Cuban doctors, nurses, sports trainers, engineers and teachers are now working in CARICOM nations.

The dispatch of Cuban health professionals to these destinations to face Covid-19 stands out.

This is a task in favor of preserving life, associated with the supply of medicines from the Cuban biopharmaceutical industry, in a gesture appreciated by the recipients of the assistance.

Referring to Cuba's technical reinforcement in health, disaster management and food sovereignty, the president of Suriname and pro tempore head of CARICOM, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, said at the summit in Barbados: "Without Cuba's help we would have to face more problems". 

But it was not only in the field of health that Cuba's neighbors maintained their serenity, as they also demonstrated their serenity in the face of the decision of President Joseph Biden's administration to exclude the land of José Martí from this year's Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

Leaders of Caribbean states along with Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and others from Latin America defended the participation of all on equal terms.

It is true that the United States disregarded the just claims by excluding Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the Los Angeles event, but it made sure of its underestimation of the support to the largest of the Antilles.

Washington also minimizes the support of the Caribbean and the majority of the international community for the condemnation of the blockade. 

Representatives of the small island states neighboring Cuba supported the resolution presented by this country at the UN General Assembly last November, in rejection of the US siege. 

 And they did so because, as the president of Suriname pointed out in Barbados, Cuba is a vital part of the Caribbean.