Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced the United States' attempts to "seize" the country and called for the defense of national sovereignty on Sunday during an event held in the western province of Pinar del Rio to commemorate the National Rebellion Day.
Sunday marks the 73rd anniversary of the attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes barracks. And this year also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (1926-2016).
On July 26, 1953, a group of young people led by Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada Barracks in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba and the Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Barracks in Bayamo, also in the east, in military actions that failed, but are considered the beginning of the struggle against the Batista dictatorship, which was overthrown in 1959.
During the ceremony, the Cuban president stated that the U.S. is applying a policy against the island "that has set out to suffocate the entire population in order to seize control of the country."
Since last January, Diaz-Canel noted, the Donald Trump administration has imposed a policy of maximum pressure on Cuba, measures that have intensified the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by Washington on Havana for more than six decades.
"I say today that defending Cuba from the cruelty of its executioners is not something that can wait. Defending Cuba means fighting against 21st-century colonialism, against hegemony, against the pretense that a single country should decide the fate of all," he said.
A participant also expressed his determination to never yield to the U.S. embargo and sanctions against Cuba.
"The situation is intensifying, and all the measures implemented by the U.S. government against Cuba are being stepped up. And it is unjust. Cuban people do not attack anyone and do not meddle with anyone. They want to suffocate us — they have us suffocated — but we will never surrender. That is certain," said Jose Diaz, a local attending the event.
