Veteran journalist from India takes an interest in Cuba

New Delhi, Aug 14 (RHC) The issue of the US blockade against Cuba was debated this Monday in the exchange of the Cuban ambassador to India, Alejandro Simancas, with S. Venkat Narayan, president of the South Asia Correspondents Club.

In a cordial atmosphere, Simancas explained to the experienced journalist the harmful effects of the economic, commercial and financial siege maintained by Washington for more than 60 years against Cuba.

Responding to Narayan's interest in the development of events after the visit to Havana in 2016 of the then president Barack Obama, the diplomat explained that the small advances made were erased by his successor, former president Donald Trump, to comply with requests of the anti-Cuban mafia based in Florida.

Simancas emphasized that in the worst period, with the Covid-19 pandemic that affected all the nations in multiple fields, Trump imposed more than 240 measures to intensify the economic war against the Caribbean nation.

He pointed out that Trump also signed the inclusion of Cuba in the list of State sponsors of terrorism, which targeted the island as object of violent actions by groups based in the United States, causing the death of almost three thousand Cubans.

Simancas specified that the current administration of Joe Biden has not changed these two political conditions that influence, for example, banking activities related to Cuba.

For his part, Narayan recalled his stay in Cuba several years ago, which he described as pleasant and confirmed his desire to repeat it. Similarly, he brought up moments of Fidel Castro's visit to India in 1983 to participate in the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, in which he participated as a journalist. (Source: PL)