"Our country's experience in receiving international aid, including from the U.S., is extensive and constructive. Any donor can attest to this." This statement was made by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, on his social media account, after the U.S. government, through a State Department statement, publicly formalized an offer of $100 million in aid to Cuba for the first time.
The Cuban president further argued that "if the U.S. government is truly willing to provide aid in the amounts it has announced and in full compliance with universally recognized practices for humanitarian assistance, it will encounter no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba, however inconsistent and paradoxical the offer may seem to a people whom the U.S. government itself systematically and ruthlessly punishes collectively."
"The priorities are more than evident: fuel, food, and medicine," Díaz-Canel stated.
Referring to the double standard of providing aid on the one hand while deepening collective punishment on the other, the Cuban president said: "Indeed, the damage could be alleviated more easily and expeditiously by lifting or easing the blockade, since it is known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced."
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party concluded by saying that "our experience working with the Catholic Church is rich and productive."
