Havana, July 24 (RHC-PL)-- Pastors for Peace, in expressing its solidarity with Cuba, "has no vacation or free time," said members of the U.S. inter-religious group who are part of the 28th U.S.-Cuba Friendship Caravan.

During a news conference hosted at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples, ICAP, the caravanistas affirmed that the resurgence of the hostile policies against the island, announced by President Donald Trump, reinforces their determination to defend the Revolution.

This caravan of the solidarity initiative launched 25 years ago by the Reverend Lucius Walker is an expression of the will of social movements, religious organizations and people in the United States  to continue to defend the right of Cubans to build their future in peace, said Gail Walker, the organization's executive director.

Hence, the fundamental purpose of Pastors for Peace is to demand the lifting of Washington's economic, commercial and financial blockade against the island, as well as the return of territory illegally occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base in southeastern Cuba, she said.

At the meeting, the Reverend Luis Barrios explained that the program developed by the group since its arrival, on July 13th, allows them to get closer to the Cuban reality and facilitates their informative work to “raise awareness, organize politically and mobilize” in support of Cuba.

He affirmed that these visits are an opportunity to renew the hopes and energies of the activists of an organization that, he said, reinvents itself "24 hours a day" to make the battle in defense of the Revolution and the people of the island more efficient.

This Caravan of Friendship began in April, with a tour of 50 U.S. cities, to inform people about Cuba and Donald Trump's attempts to reverse the process of normalization of bilateral relations.

Pastors for Peace emerged in 1988 as a project of the Interreligious Foundation for the Community Organization (IFCO), led then by the Reverend Lucius Walker, and since 1992 has been directing its initiatives of solidarity towards Cuba.