Because the largest of the Antilles "is not alone," during the closing ceremony yesterday of the 9th Continental and Caribbean Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, held in Mexico, a People's Summit was convened in Santo Domingo as compensation for its exclusion, along with Venezuela and Nicaragua, from the 10th Summit of the Americas, to be held in December in Punta Cana.
According to the website Siempre con Cuba, knowing the resilience and tenacity of the island in its ongoing battle for sovereignty, Roberto Payano Pantaleón, president of the Dominican solidarity campaign with Cuba, requested, on behalf of those present, that his country's government fulfill the promise made by the president when the Dominican Republic was declared the venue and gave his word that it would be an inclusive space.
There can be no hesitation at a time when we are not "in favor of exclusive summits," he also emphasized that leaving out these "three sister nations constitutes a capitulation by the host country's government to the brutal unilateral pressure from the United States, which is attempting to reimpose the Monroe Doctrine, threatening regional peace, security, and stability. In the face of a Summit of the Americas built on coercion and exclusion, and in the face of the imperialist offensive, let us promote solidarity, unity, and peace in our region."
Without a doubt, the world is certain of the courage of José Martí's children in defending their right to self-determination and in raising their voices to denounce crimes and injustice. This is what the empire fears: the example of nobility and decency.
For his part, Marcos Rodríguez Costa, Cuban ambassador to Mexico, expressed his gratitude for the initiative, which will be, in his words, a legitimate space for meeting, dialogue, and coordination between movements in solidarity with Cuba and the just causes we defend. It will also echo the voices that are being silenced by excluding those three countries from the regional meeting. And it will be an expression of a Latin America and Caribbean that does not accept impositions or exclusions.
The support received by Cuba at the meeting was also palpable through the willingness of hundreds of delegates from some 35 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Spain, Canada, and the United States, who agreed to strengthen the parliamentary, governmental, and popular struggle to demand an end to the blockade and the removal of the Caribbean nation from the infamous list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism.
