Washington, Jan 28 (RHC) Activists paid tribute this Saturday to Cuba's National Hero, José Martí, in front of his statue in Central Park in the U.S. city of New York, and called for an end to aggressions against our country.

Carlos Lazo, the coordinator of the solidarity project Puentes de Amor (Bridges of Love), commented that the initiative made it possible to honor the life and work of the Apostle of Cuban Independence against Spanish colonialism on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of his birth.

The Cuban professor resident in Seattle pointed out that the activity was part of the caravans that will take place this weekend in different cities around the world to demand the end of the blockade imposed by the U.S. government on Cuba for more than six decades.

The event was organized by the New York-New Jersey Cuba Sí Coalition.

Based on the call of Bridges of Love, tomorrow more than 20 cities in the United States and the world will demand the cessation of hostility against Havana and the normalization of relations between the peoples of both countries.

The caravan aims to raise contributions to bring powdered milk to pediatric hospitals in Cuba, as well as to reiterate the request to President Joe Biden to remove that nation from the list of alleged State Sponsors of Terrorism.

Such designation, adopted by Washington's standards, reinforces the impact of this unilateral siege in force despite the rejection of the international community and sectors of the U.S. civil society.

The solidarity demonstrations take place the last weekend of each month and among other demands defend the family reunification program, the sending of remittances, and travel to Cuba, affected by the more than 240 measures imposed by Donald Trump (2017-2021).

According to the Havana Foreign Ministry, those provisions mostly intensified the blockade, suffocating the Caribbean country, hindering sources of income, relations, and creating a situation of ungovernability.

Between August 2021 and February 2022, the losses caused by the siege are in the order of three thousand 806 million dollars, a record amount for such a reduced period, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

José Martí was born on January 28, 1853, and is considered by experts as the greatest Spanish-American political thinker of the 19th century (Source: Prensa Latina).