The defense of national sovereignty and the denunciation of the human consequences of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the U.S. government were the focus of a parliamentary public hearing titled "Cuba Is Not a Threat—the Blockade Is," held this Thursday at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR).
With the United Nations General Assembly set to consider a draft resolution calling for an end to this policy in just a few days, the statements presented highlighted its repercussions on healthcare, the production of medicines, the daily lives of families, and the country’s cultural development.
The meeting was led by Political Bureau members Esteban Lazo Hernández—President of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State—and Teresa Amarelle Boué, Secretary-General of the Federation of Cuban Women, alongside other parliamentary and government leaders.
Lawmaker Litza Elena González Desdín, a member of the Council of State and president of the Federation of University Students, stated that the hearing was held on behalf of the Cuban people—especially its youth—and denounced the policy as contrary to international law and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
From this platform, she highlighted the urgent call from young people for a world of peace—free from threats or blockades—where solidarity and respect among nations are the norm. She also expressed opposition to the U.S. government’s aggressive escalation against Cuba and its leadership, and supported the concerns raised by the First Secretary of the Party’s Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, regarding the humanitarian impact of the blockade and the pressure exerted on United Nations member states to alter their positions on the resolution.
BEHIND EVERY FIGURE LIES A LIFE
Drawing on her experience as a physician and an expectant mother, Josefina Prosper Bruff—from the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology—put a human face to the consequences that this collective punishment has inflicted upon the healthcare system.
"Behind every figure resulting from the blockade, there is a human face," she stated, referring to the nearly 367 million dollars in damages caused to the Cuban public health sector between March 2025 and February 2026.
Of the 395 medications that make up the national essential medicines list, 300 are currently unavailable due to difficulties in accessing supplies and raw materials. Compounding this situation are energy shortages that disrupt hospital services, the postponement of surgical procedures, and obstacles to ensuring vaccination efforts and the transport of patients who require hemodialysis.
In the neonatal unit, where the most vulnerable newborns are cared for—she noted—more than 95% of the equipment relies on an electricity supply that cannot always be guaranteed to be stable. In operating rooms, power interruptions force medical staff to seek alternatives to sustain procedures that cannot be halted.
The doctor also drew attention to the situation of oncology patients. Each year, between 300 and 400 Cuban children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer; their lives depend on medications and equipment that require energy to function.
The survival rate for children and young people with cancer, she added, has fallen from 85% to 65%. "Lifting the blockade at this moment is not a political request; it is an ethical imperative," she maintained.
CONSEQUENCES NOT CAPTURED IN STATISTICS
Deputy Carlos Antonio Leyva Isaac, a chemical engineer with ties to the pharmaceutical industry, explained how trade and financial restrictions affect the domestic production of medicines.
He compared industrial planning to a puzzle with missing pieces: while the personnel, equipment, and formulas may be available, the absence of raw materials, packaging supplies, reagents, or active pharmaceutical ingredients makes it impossible to complete a production batch.
This outcome, he pointed out, extends beyond the industrial sphere: it results in a medication that fails to reach the population, or a service that cannot be provided in a timely manner.
In the case of the Valles Pharmaceutical Laboratory—which produces more than 70% of the country’s parenteral solutions and all of its oral rehydration salts—production difficulties directly affect renal patients, children in need of care, and individuals who rely on specific medical treatments.
The deputy further noted that the blockade does not merely restrict the direct purchase of products; it also targets suppliers in third countries, complicates access to bank financing, and hinders the transport of goods.
"Financial fear travels faster than solidarity," he remarked, describing the barriers faced by those attempting to procure the supplies necessary to maintain production.
He asserted that Cuba will not go to the United Nations to beg for charity, but rather to demand consistency from the international community—urging it to acknowledge this reality and call for an end to the blockade.
"THERE IS NOT A SINGLE CUBAN WHO CANNOT SAY THEY ARE AFFECTED"
Deputy Leidys María Labrador Herrera, deputy director of the newspaper *Granma*, emphasized that the consequences of this policy permeate every aspect of society, impacting daily life as well as the dreams and personal aspirations of every family.
"Today, thousands of Cubans are being subjected to an unjust collective punishment for a single reason: defending our sovereignty, building a just society, and exercising our sovereign right to determine our own destiny. Is that a crime? It is not. It is called the self-determination of a people," she stated.
And he added: "Today, there is not a single Cuban in this country—man or woman—who cannot say that the blockade affects them within their own homes, in their daily lives, in their personal fulfillment, and in their dreams and plans."
In his remarks, he spoke of doctors who go to hospitals even while facing the same shortages in their own homes; of mothers worried about their children; and of workers who must overcome transportation and fuel challenges to fulfill their responsibilities.
"We were talking about those doctors who arrive at hospitals—knowing they won't have all the necessary medicines—who possess more heart than they do resources to save lives," he said.
Faced with this reality, he questioned the callousness of those who promote the blockade and drew attention to the toll it takes on Cuban families.
"I believe that what the Cuban people are doing today—and what they have done throughout these years of the Revolution—is a constant act of heroism, defined above all by their perseverance, their resilience, their strength, and their capacity to say: 'You will not make me surrender, you will not bring me down, and I will not allow it.' Yet, that does not change the fact that the cost is extremely high," he stated.
Labrador Herrera also denounced the pressures exerted on other countries to change their votes at the United Nations, to abstain, or to refrain from participating in the vote against the blockade.
"Why, then, is there so much pressure on other nations not to vote in favor of Cuba? Why do this if the blockade does not exist?" she asked.
At the same time, she acknowledged the solidarity shown by people from all over the world who, despite the pressures and difficulties, continue to stand with Cuba.
"Cuba is a vast heart that has always been open to the world," she stated, expressing her conviction that international support will continue to bolster the defense of the nation's sovereignty.
She concluded with a warning regarding the universal scope of this cause: "Cuba is defending its own sovereignty, but in doing so, it is also defending the sovereignty of every nation on the planet—because today it is Cuba, but tomorrow, who knows who it might be?"
CULTURE ALSO RESISTS
Yasel Toledo Garnache, president of the Hermanos Saíz Association, addressed the consequences of the blockade for young writers, artists, researchers, and cultural promoters.
He explained that economic and energy-related hardships affect both the daily lives of these creators and their ability to develop projects, hold presentations in communities, schools, and workplaces, and access the materials and instruments necessary for their work.
However, she highlighted the Cuban people’s capacity to preserve joy, creativity, and a connection to culture, even under the most difficult circumstances.
She expressed her solidarity with those artists and intellectuals in the United States who advocate for respectful relations between the two peoples and recognize Cuba’s right to independence.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Litza Elena González Desdín called upon young people worldwide, elected representatives, and peoples from every corner of the globe to join in this denunciation and demand an end to the blockade, the energy siege, and other unilateral coercive measures.
On October 27 and 28, the United Nations General Assembly will once again consider a draft resolution on the need to end the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States government against Cuba. "Once again, it will be demonstrated that Cuba is not alone in this just cause to end the blockade," she stated.
