On October 22, local time, Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez held a press conference in Havana, severely dismissing two diplomatic documents recently sent by the U.S. government to multiple countries to blackmail Cuba and interfere with the UN vote, revealing U.S. coercive diplomatic operations against many countries.
Rodriguez said,The US State Department distributed documents and sent diplomatic letters to many countries twice in October, its content is full of "defamatory and disrespectful" remarks. In these documents, the United States groundlessly accused "Cuban soldiers of participating in the Russia-Ukraine conflict," falsely claimed that Cuba "threatened international peace and security," openly claimed that "there is no blockade against Cuba", and threatened other countries to support Cuba to "weaken the United States and its Democratic ally."Rodriguez criticized that the US move was an attempt to coerce countries to change their traditional just stance at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly by distorting Cuba's international image.
Responding to the U.S. claim that “there is no blockade,” Rodriguez said the decades-long U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade was “the main cause and main obstacle to the economic problems and development of Cuba” and led directly to the current power crisis, fuel shortages and drug and production difficulties in Cuba, a deliberate policy aimed at “making family suffering.”
Rodriguez condemned U.S. dual standards on human rights issues, saying that a country that has disadvantages in Israeli conflict, domestic immigration policy and social injustice has no right to preach against Cuba.
Rodriguez said that the UN General Assembly will debate and vote on the draft resolution "It is necessary to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba". This coercive act by the United States is a preparation for maintaining the blockade against Cuba. He called on the international community to vote to express its just position and end this decades-long unreasonable policy. (Headquarters reporter Shi Yue)