Relations between Cuba and the United States can have a better future, in spite of their differences, said the Caribbean island's ambassador to Washington, Jose Ramon Cabañas.
According to the diplomat, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, in power since January 20, 2017, is determined to destroy the achievements of the Cuban Revolution of more than 60 years.
However, he added that Cuba continues committed to a future that only belongs to its people.
Cabañas spoke Thursday evening at the celebration of Cuba's National Day, which took place at the U.S. Embassy in Washington.
He said that it is crazy to say that the current U.S Cuba policy is in support of the island's people, when in fact, it deprives them of oil, gas, food, medicines, and essential services.
"The goal has been the same since the revolutionary triumph of January 1, 1959, and it is simply to overthrow a model that offers a different social and political perspective to people living in the Western Hemisphere," he said.
Cabaña told diplomats, business people, friends of Cuba, and Cubans in attendance that this policy failed before, and that it will fail again.
If Americans consider themselves the best ambassadors to promote their nation and its values, so why to limit their ability to travel to Cuba? The ambassador asked.
Why is it so dangerous for university students from both countries to meet to discuss the future, how subversive it is for musicians to play together,? How many diseases can we fend off together? He added.
He also asked: Is anyone capable of fighting climate change alone?, how will the U.S. southern states be affected without Cuban cooperation in the fight against human trafficking and drugs?
These are some questions that nobody in the U.S. government these days cares to answer, said Cabañas, who stressed that despite the setbacks, last year was remarkable for Cuba.
"We approved a new constitution, authorities were elected at the national level, and relevant decisions were made in terms of the country's budget and the ways in which companies and cooperatives manage their resources," he said.
As it has for the past six decades, the will of 11 million Cubans will prevail, Cabañas said, before recalling that Washington continues to rely on the old saying that being tough on Cuba provides votes in the state of Florida in a presidential election year.
No one understands, he said, why our countries have to disagree, and most Americans expect to resume bilateral relations as they were in 2015 and 2016 after the rapprochement promoted in late 2014 by then-Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama.
