Mexico City, July 16 (RHC) -– Members of the 26th Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba, an initiative that has brought tons of humanitarian assistance to Cuba over the years in defiance of the U.S. blockade, arrived in Mexico on their way to Havana.

Tamara Barra, member of the Mexico-Cuba Solidarity Movement, told Prensa Latina news agency that the caravanistas will gather in front of the U.S. embassy in Mexico City to demand the end of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba, as part of their activities in that country.

The activists welcome the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana, but they say crucial steps are still to be taken, such as the end of the blockade and the closing of the U.S. naval base in the over-100-year illegally occupied Cuban territory of Guantanamo.

The Pastors for Peace caravan, an initiative of the late Reverend Lucius Walker and the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization IFCO-Pastors for Peace, began its trip across Canada and the United States towards Texas on June 29th, carrying humanitarian aid for the Cuban people.

The cargo includes medical equipment, medications, computers, school material, and items for sports and artistic activities, all collected during the trip across North American cities.

Pastors for Peace President Reverend Thomas Smith said that international solidarity with Cuba continues to prevail because Cubans have the right to choose their own path with no one interfering with their social, economic and political system.

The first Pastors for Peace Caravan came to Cuba in November 1992, during the hardest times of the Special Period.