Introduction
I thank the Convener of this Conference, my friend of many years, brother and comrade, Owei Lakemfa, for initiating this gathering.
On 29th January 2026, President Donald Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act (NEA) to issue an Executive Order categorizing Cuba as an “unusual and extra-ordinary threat to US national security and foreign policy”. The Order imposes additional duties on goods imported from any country that directly or indirectly sells or provides crude oil or petroleum products to Cuba.
This Conference affords us an opportunity to ask and answer certain basic questions, namely:
- What is the essence of the renewed economic warfare against Cuba for the oppressed peoples of the world? or
- Why has the US imposed this devastating warfare against Cuba? or
- What does Cuba represent that Yankee Imperialism seeks to crush?
- Is the current onslaught of the US against Cuba not an attempt to reverse the 1959 Cuban revolution and progress recorded under Castro, just like the predecessors of Donald Trump had unsuccessfully done while trying to assassinate the great revolutionary?
- Do oppressed peoples of the world owe a debt/duty of standing by Cuba, particularly at this critical time?
- What practical actions can be undertaken to stand by Cuba?
WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE RENEWED ECONOMIC WARFARE AGAINST CUBA FOR THE OPPRESSED PEOPLES OF THE WORLD?
The renewed onslaught on Cuba has been described variously as a predatory calculation as well as the most wicked, cruel, crushing, vicious, brutal economic blockade targeted at existential stifling of the wellbeing of the masses with the intention of provoking the masses to embark on mass protest, the ultimate purposes of which is, to exploit the crisis to violently bring down the regime, and compel a forced system change back to the pre-1959 era.
In order to understand the full import of the renewed onslaught on Cuba, we need to interrogate the 14th February 2026 speech of the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, which he delivered at the Munich Security Conference.
The essence of the speech is a concern for restoration of colonial property relations, not only in Cuba and other Latin American countries but indeed, on a global scale.
The speech agonises over the contraction of Western influence following decolonization and “communist” revolutions. Rubio called for a new Western century and challenged European leaders not to be shackled by guilt and shame over their colonial past.
Rubio is pained that the post-WWII era is a period of “managed decline” for the West, which he attributed to “godless communist revolutions” and anti-colonial uprisings.
Specifically, on Cuba, Rubio stated that Cuba’s “only path forward” is to open its economy and grant political and economic freedoms to its citizens. Earlier in late January 2026, Rubio had publicly expressed preference for regime change, that it would be to the benefit of the US, if Cuba were no longer governed by an “autocratic regime.”
Thus, on the whole, the essence of the economic attacks on Cuba goes beyond Cuba. Cuba is merely being used as a dress rehearsal. The insane and predatory President Trump has a recolonization agenda, which threatens the hard-won freedoms of all oppressed and industrially undeveloped world, in particular.
WHY PRESIDENT TRUMP SEEKS A REVERSAL TO PRE-1959 CUBA
Cuba freed itself from Spain’s Latin American Empire in 1898. Thereafter, the US dominated the economy. By 1924, American-US sugar barons owned 63% of Cuban sugar production. By the 1950s, 80% of all Cuban imports came from the US. 83% of available land was devoted to sugar and sugar made up at least 80% of exports. By 1959, Cuba’s capital city, in reality, was Washington, not Havana.
Between 1924 and 1933, an ex-Director of General Electric in Cuba, Gerardo Machado ruled Cuba with iron hand. He was overthrown in 1933 by a workers’ revolt and replaced for a few months by Grau San Martin who was in turn removed by ex- Sergeant-Clerk Fulgencio Batista who ruled from 1934 to 1959 when he was removed by the 1959 Revolution that was led by Fidel Castro’s Guerrilla movement with widespread popular support of workers and the peasantry.
NATIONALISATION
The 1959 revolution carried out massive nationalisation through land reforms involving land seizure and land redistribution, nationalization of private property, mainly U.S.-owned; oil refineries; banks; insurance, chemical, mining, and agricultural companies.
These nationalisation programs are the very reasons why the deranged President Donald Trump categorized Cuba as an “unusual and extra-ordinary threat to US national security and foreign policy”. The nationalisation policy and the gains it has established in terms of free health care, free education opportunities, etc, are what Trump and the US imperialism term the sponsorship of Terrorism by Cuba.
The ultimate target of the unprecedented economic strangulation of Cuba is therefore, not just a question of “regime change”; it is in reality a focus on “system change”, i.e. a reversal to the pre-1959 property relations.
WHAT DOES CUBA REPRESENT THAT MUST BE CRUSHED?
The Cuban revolution, though not on Marxist lines of being led by the working class, represents a symbol of resistance, a successful anti-imperialist revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is this example that the American establishment seeks to crush. The US establishment, what Fidel Castro used to vehemently and passionately denounce as “Yankee Imperialism” seeks to bury the influence of the Cuban Revolution by imposing its (US) hegemony on Cuba and other nations through an admixture of criminal political interferences, illegal economic strangulating measures and military gangsterism, as demonstrated most recently in Venezuela with the kidnap of the Venezuelan President and his wife.
EXAMPLES OF THE POSITIVE INFLUENCE OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION ON A GLOBAL SCALE
For people of my generation, the Cuban Revolution, the courage and sacrifices (as well as the speeches of Fidel Castro through the Granma newspaper) in sustaining over six decades of attacks by Yankee Imperialism, represent an inspiration and rebirth in the course of the development of my Marxist consciousness. It is therefore deeply painful for me to witness, in my lifetime, a time as we are currently passing through, when Cuba has been reduced to a country that has to be bailed out on humanitarian grounds – No, thanks to the wicked machinations of the rogue Yankee Imperialism.
My political rebirth on the ground of what the Cuban Revolution represents is the first reason for my commitment and advocating that the oppressed peoples of the world owe the Cuban people a debt of international solidarity, not as charity but as a duty, in recognition and appreciation of the major role played by the Cuban government, the military and its team of medical corps in the emancipation struggles, particularly in Angola and the Apartheid South Africa, among others. An unquantifiable support and a debt of gratitude that the oppressed masses of the world can never fully repay, in reality.
Since the 1959 Revolution, Yankee Imperialism has continued to cruelly attack Cuba, economically, physically, psychologically, culturally, informationally, through multilevel warfare, including invasions, executions, biological and chemical warfare, economic sanctions, blockades, trade embargoes, and military actions. For what the Cuban people have suffered through the varied forms of attacks, I repeat, we owe the Cuban people a debt of international solidarity that we can never fully repay.
In this period of profound trials in the history of Cuban people in resisting colonial, neocolonial domination and attempts at a re-colonialisation agenda, I say it again and again, we owe the Cuban people a debt of international solidarity that we can never fully repay.
CUBAN MILITARY INTERNATIONALISM
For the thousands of Cuban soldiers’ lives lost (and those fatally injured) in the course of Cuban military internationalism in supporting the cause of self determination, political independence, liberation, emancipation and human dignity in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, in Angola, Zanzibar, the Congo-Brazzaville, Benin Republic, Namibia, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and more recently, Venezuela, we owe the Cuban people a debt of international solidarity that we can never fully repay.
CUBAN HEALTHCARE INTERNATIONALISM
For the healthcare internationalism which Cuba has demonstrated for the benefit of the world, in sending not less than 400,000 health personnel to not less than 134 countries of the world, and in which Cuba either paid fully or partially for the health services rendered in many of the cases, revered comrades, we owe the Cuban people a debt of international solidarity that we can never fully repay.
OVER 600 FAILED CIA PLOTS TO ASSASSINATE FIDEL CASTRO
For the over 600 failed CIA plots to assassinate Fidel Castro within a distance of 90 miles to the US, in the hope of cutting short worldwide influence on resistance to colonial, neocolonial enslavement, and imperialist domination, we definitely owe the Cuban people a debt of international solidarity that we can never fully repay.
There is an urgent challenge for the oppressed peoples of the world, organized and unorganized, employed and unemployed workers, peasants, students, traders, professionals, to reciprocate Cuba’s military internationalism, medical Internationalism and educational internationalism.
Cuba has given unconditional active, not passive, support to the emancipatory struggles of oppressed peoples all over the world, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean. Now is the time to reciprocate in every way we can!
WHAT PRACTICAL ACTIONS CAN BE UNDERTAKEN TO SHOW A WILL TO ATTEMPT TO REPAY THE DEBT WE OWE CUBA?
No doubt, the debt we owe Cuba can never be fully repaid. We can, nonetheless, symbolically show the spirit that we recognize what Cuba has unconditionally and willingly sacrificed for the oppressed peoples of the world, particularly in Africa.
We need to discuss, agree and execute concrete solidarity actions to support Cuba. Cuba needs urgent concrete political support, Cuba needs concrete material support, Cuba needs concrete financial support and Cuba needs concrete mass action support by social movements, including and particularly the trade unions.
RESOLUTIONS
I call on this Conference to adopt resolutions on the following concrete proposals, among others that this Conference may consider and adopt:
- Labour Movement Cuban Voluntary Monthly Financial Debt/Donation, payable by every worker, student, etc;
- Labour Movement Cuban Voluntary Financial Debt, payable by unions;
- Labour Movement Cuban Solidarity Rallies to denounce Yankee Imperialism.
- Labour Movement Pressure on the Federal Government of Nigeria to regularly donate crude oil to Cuba on humanitarian ground, and
- Labour Movement Pressure on all levels of the Nigerian Governments to regularly donate funds and materials to Cuba on humanitarian ground.
We solemnly declare, along with the Cuban people, the agelong battle cry: Patria o Muerte! (Fatherland or death!)
Vinceremos! (We shall overcome!).
Femi Aborisade
24th February 2026.
[1] Being solidarity speech delivered at the Conference of the Nigerian Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (NMSC) held on 24/2/26 at the NLC Conference Hall, Abuja
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