Spain, Mexico, and Brazil confirm their diplomatic rapprochement after the summit of progressive leaders in Barcelona this weekend and join forces to denounce US pressure on Cuba. The three countries have called for dialogue in the face of the threat of military intervention on the island and have committed in a joint declaration to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to confront the “dramatic situation experienced by the Cuban people” after three months of energy strangulation imposed by the Donald Trump Administration.
”We express our enormous concern about the serious humanitarian crisis that the people of Cuba are going through and we call for the necessary measures to be adopted to alleviate this situation and to avoid actions that aggravate the living conditions of the population or are contrary to international law,” the three Governments state in a communiqué released this Saturday night, just hours after the closing of the IV Summit in Defense of Democracy, an initiative that brought together more than a dozen progressive leaders.
Spain and the two largest Latin American powers also demand respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the island, and urge to “find a lasting solution to the current situation and ensure that it is the Cuban people themselves who decide their future in full freedom,” according to the joint declaration, which does not explicitly allude to the United States.
This trilateral position is one of the most visible concrete results of the meeting in the Catalan capital.
The declaration responds to a proposal put forward by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during her initial intervention at the forum of left-wing leaders convened in Barcelona by the Government of Pedro Sánchez. Sheinbaum expressed hope that “peace and dialogue will prevail” amid the diplomatic tensions between Washington and Havana in recent months and asked all participating States in the summit to join in a joint statement to oppose a possible military intervention, always avoiding a direct clash with the US, neighbor and main commercial partner of the Latin American country.
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The Mexican president also recalled that her country was one of the few in Latin America that denounced the economic blockade imposed by the White House since the 1970s. It has also been one of the most active in sending emergency aid to the island.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva went a step further in his proposals at the closing of the official event, when he admitted being “concerned” about the strangulation imposed on Cuba: “This blockade must stop and let Cubans live their lives.” Lula referred to Trump as “the lord of war” and denounced Washington’s interventions in the region, such as the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, on January 3. “We cannot wake up every morning and go to sleep at night always with a tweet from a president of the republic threatening the world, declaring war,” he reproached.
The Cuban government has thanked the support of the three countries. “Amidst the difficult situation Cuba faces, due to the extreme tightening of the US blockade, the current energy siege, and the constant threats from the US Government, we recognize the dignified and supportive joint statement issued by the governments of Brazil, Spain, and Mexico,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez in a message published on social media. The White House has not commented in the first hours after the publication of the trilateral text.
Sheinbaum will return to Mexico this Sunday, thus ending her first visit to Europe since she became president of the North American country in October 2024. It is also the first trip to Spain by a Mexican head of state since 2018.
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