Havana, March 11 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced the existence of a slander campaign to discredit the Revolution, trying to deny its achievements.

During the assembly to review the annual work of the Ministry of Culture held on Wednesday, the President urged the country to think and act from the perspective of culture amid a context marked by the intensification of the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade on Cuba.

The President noted that one of the most notable challenges at the moment stems from the U.S. government's attempts to prevent fuel from reaching the island. 

"The blockade is not limited to economic, commercial and financial issues, but goes through a whole colonizing platform in which aggressions to the identity and culture of the nation are complemented," he said

"Why is our culture under such attack, and why is an important part of that whole colonizing platform focused on attacking our culture?"  the President wondered.

Diaz-Canel criticized the manipulation, the lies to discredit Cuba's achievements in health, human rights, religious freedoms, and culture in general by the fabrication of incidents.

Those incidents always first introduce doubt about how the Revolution acts, victimizes the mercenaries, and creates a media scandal.

According to the statesman, Cuban artists have often been attacked.  Attacked when they go to perform in other countries, and their work is distorted; however, pseudo-artists, people without work or links to any institution of Cuban culture, are defended, sometimes passionately.

In the President's opinion, the work of the Revolution has been expressed with excellent taste in different artistic manifestations; at the same time, he invited a measured analysis of each new provocation, to avoid responses that lack support.

"I always prefer, in the method of analysis, to do the following: First I defend the Revolution, and then, if the Revolution is wrong, I criticize it, or we criticize each other, but first I defend it," said Díaz-Canel amidst applause.

"Because I am aware that we are being attacked and the Revolution has to defend itself, and one has to defend that which gives you essence," said the dignitary, who considered any interference or attack against the patriotic symbols of Cuba or any country inadmissible.