The photo was taken from Prensa Latina

Havana, Sep 22 (RHC) Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said that calling Cuba a failed state is a fallacy.

In an interview with the television program Democracy Now, the diplomat stressed that this is evidenced by the country's social progress in sectors such as education, health, science, technology, culture, and sports.

"Cuba faced the Covid-19 pandemic with its resources and that was thanks to the development of the health system, despite the difficulties imposed by the hostile policy of the United States, and these are not the characteristics of a failed state," he emphasized.

Fernández de Cossío condemned the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed on the Caribbean nation by Washington for more than six decades, as well as the 243 coercive measures applied during the administration of Donald Trump (2017-2021).

To understand the effect of U.S. policies on the island, the representative asked Americans to think about how it would influence the country and their lifestyles if a large economy suspended the territory's sales or exports, prevented it from accessing resources, markets, or conducting international transactions.

"If you multiply that, you could see the impact on Cuba," the deputy minister asserted.

He specified that the objective of the U.S. policy since 1960 is to make life as difficult and unbearable as possible for the Cuban people, with the ambition that this will lead to the overthrow of the government.

Regarding possible changes during Joseph Biden's presidency in Havana, Fernández de Cossío commented that the recently announced decision to process all migrant visas at the U.S. embassy on the island is a step to try to correct the hostilities inherited from the Trump era.

However, he referred to how the United States spends millions of dollars to try to bend the West Indian government and recalled how Cuba still appears on the list of alleged countries sponsoring terrorism, according to Washington.

"We spoke with the U.S. government and expressed that there is no basis for that decision, while we still do not receive arguments, evidence, or reasons why the island remains on a list where it should never have been," the official remarked.

He added that the only excuse, without being directly stated, is political.

The Deputy Foreign Minister ratified the great responsibility of the North American country to pressure the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into an aggressive position against Russia and its influence in the conflict in Ukraine.

Moreover, he denounced the US’s tendency to impose its hegemony and act against any country that may eventually be its rival.