Fernando González Llort, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power and president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), spoke on November 17, at the final session of the International Tribunal against the Blockade of the United States, which took place at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.

Dear friends:

Surely you will agree with me that we have witnessed an act of great political content and value, following a legal scheme par excellence. What seemed practically impossible to achieve in the middle of the year 2021, when this initiative began to take shape, has become an action of great significance, thanks to the joint efforts of legal organizations, organizations in solidarity with Cuba, political groups, trade unions, MEPs and individuals, among others, who recognize the injustice that has been committed against the Cuban people for more than six decades by the main imperialist power in history.

If only 15 days ago the government of the United States was once again isolated internationally at the United Nations General Assembly, receiving a new and resounding moral defeat, today the European Parliament, a place where anti-Cuban resolutions have been passed on repeated occasions accusing us of violating human rights and disrespecting democracy, has, among other great fallacies, passed resolutions accusing us of violating human rights and disrespecting democracy, among other great fallacies, has also served to deal a new fatal blow to the current U.S. government, which, like its predecessors, does not cease in its efforts to break us, to erase with a stroke of a pen the example that my brave and rebellious homeland represents for many peoples of the world.

Undoubtedly, a major political exercise has been achieved. It has been demonstrated that the U.S. conduct towards Cuba is absolutely unilateral and unjustified, in violation of laws and international treaties and that it is not at all a bilateral issue, but rather affects third parties, including European companies and citizens.

I urge you to devise together new actions, much more effective than those achieved so far, to demonstrate how the marked extraterritorial nature of the blockade harms the sovereignty of the countries you represent and violates national laws.

In the same way that there is not a single valid argument to justify the arbitrary inclusion and permanence of Cuba in the unilateral list of countries sponsoring terrorism, we know that nothing will change the will of all those present here to continue to join us in denouncing the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on us.

Just as the Cuban president, comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, expressed his gratitude for the convening of this International Tribunal against the Blockade against Cuba last July 17 within the framework of the Celac-European Union Peoples' Summit in this same capital, I extend my thanks to all those present here, to the team of judges, prosecutors, experts, witnesses, to the organizations that convened this tribunal and to the participating public, which together came to comprise 243 participants representing 18 countries of Europe and the United States, the sincere recognition of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples and of our people as a whole, for the effort deployed and the commitment demonstrated with the defense of the just Cuban cause.

The resistance of the Cuban people, proven at all costs, in the face of this obstinate policy, together with the support we receive from thousands of men and women, like yourselves, who represent the best of your peoples, encourages us to continue forward. In order to make this struggle more effective, I invite you to use the verdict of this court as a new working tool. It will be a new legal tool, very useful for raising awareness among other audiences and making our common battle, which is none other than that of David against Goliath, more effective. This opens a new stage in the fight against the blockade, which must be combined with political and legal actions, making greater use of the European Union's own mechanisms in favor of our truth.

Let us shout together, louder every day: "Unblock Cuba, Unblock us".

Thank you very much.