By Femi Falana
INTRODUCTION
Following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro made solidarity with Africa a nook stone of the international coverage of Cuba. Hence, the federal government developed curiosity within the anticolonial actions and socialist governments in Africa. In 1961, Cuba despatched a navy mission to the Kwame Nkrumah authorities in Ghana. And following the independence of Algeria in 1962, Cuba despatched navy help and medical provides to the Algerian National Liberation Front. The go to of Ernesto Che Guevara to the progressive actions within the Portuguese colonies in 1964 consolidated the involvement of Cuba in African affairs. A yr later, Che Guevara was within the Democratic Republic of the Congo to supply his data and expertise as a guerrilla fighter.
CUBA’S SUPPORT FOR LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN AFRICA
Cuba turned a powerful ally of the defunct Organization for African Unity and the African Union within the wrestle in opposition to colonialism and apartheid. In justifying Cuba’s internationalist international coverage and deployment of troops to help anti-colonial and anti-apartheid actions throughout Africa, Fidel Castro famously acknowledged, “African blood flows freely through our veins. Many of our ancestors came as slaves from Africa to this land. As slaves they struggled a great deal. They fought as members of the Liberating Army of Cuba. We’re brothers and sisters of the people of Africa and we’re ready to fight on their behalf.” On one other event, the Cuban chief stated, “We are a Latin-American nation and a Latin-African nation as well.”
In help of the independence actions that engaged in armed wrestle in opposition to European colonial powers in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Angola, Cuba despatched navy advisers, fighters and gear. Thousands of Cuban troops have been deployed to help the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in opposition to the invading South African apartheid forces and rival native armed teams sided by the United States and different western governments. Not lower than 55,000 Cuban troops took half within the historic battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola from 1987–1988. Indeed, it was the navy setbacks suffered within the battle subject by South Africa that compelled the apartheid regime to enter into the political negotiations that culminated within the independence of Namibia in 1990, and South Africa in 1994.
CUBA’S MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS IN AFRICA
Based on its long-standing historical past of medical internationalism in Africa, Cuba has despatched hundreds of medical personnel together with medical doctors and nurses to confront harmful ailments in lots of African nations.
During the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015, Cuba supplied the most important medical personnel consisting of over 460 well being staff (together with a contingent of 165 via the World Health Organization) to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Many world leaders counseled Cuba for the success recorded in combating the Ebola Virus illness whereas the late Pope Francis lauded the “heroic” medical doctors, nurses, and volunteers from world wide who traveled to West Africa to comprise the “implacable illness”.
In 2020, Cuba dispatched lots of of medical personnel to African nations to assist numerous governments to fight the Covid 19 pandemic. The medical groups supplied frontline help in a number of African nations together with South Africa, Angola, Cape Verde, and Togo that have been going through severe well being disaster. Unlike Western nations that often advocate mosquito nets and bug killers for combating the scourge of malaria fever, Cuba has collaborated with some African nations to work on vector-control applications to eradicate malaria and dengue. In explicit, Cuba has helped nations to construct biolarvicide factories, educated area people well being brokers, and arrange major care frameworks in rural municipalities in Africa.
No doubt, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 had opposed political and financial influence on Cuba. Notwithstanding the financial difficulties skilled by Cuba, compounded by the crippling sanctions imposed by the United States, the Government has continued to supply bilateral scholarships, fellowships, and grants for worldwide college students from numerous African nations to check Medicine, Engineering, Agronomy, Sciences, Humanities and Technology. Apart from Cuba, no nation has supplied medical, academic and navy help to African nations with none strings connected.
GENOCIDAL ATTACKS ON CUBA BY THE UNITED STATES
Cuba is being asphyxiated by the US to be able to perform a regime change that can’t be justified underneath worldwide legislation. However, for the reason that financial strangulation of Cuba has not materialised within the collapse of the Cuban authorities, the US authorities determined to cook dinner up the costs of conspiracy and homicide in opposition to Raul Castro and 5 different Cubans. The deliberate navy aggression can be meant to divert consideration from the monumental shame suffered by the US within the reckless warfare being waged in opposition to Iran by the US and Israel. To that extent, the only real goal of the indictment of Raul Castro is to justify navy aggression in opposition to Cuba. It is a shameful replay of the indictment of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro by U.S. courts, which supplied a pretext for the big scale navy assault in January 2026 leading to his abduction.
The unilateral United States financial, business, and monetary blockade in opposition to Cuba since 1962, is prohibited and a gross violation of the United Nations Charter which promotes worldwide peace and sovereignty of all nations. In a determined bid to seek out justification for its imperialist agenda, the United States added Cuba to its listing of nations allegedly sponsoring terrorism. But for the reason that baseless and completely false accusation has by no means been confirmed by the United States, we demand the elimination of Cuba from the listing of terrorist nations.
No doubt, the US authorities has realised that one other invasion of Cuba can be worse than the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1962. Hence, President Trump determined to impose recent financial sanctions in a determined bid to hold out regime change in Cuba. In addition to the blockade of over 60 years, President Trump moved to dam oil from reaching Cuba, pushing up costs for meals, medication, transportation and prompting extreme gasoline shortages and hours of blackouts. A couple of days, the US Secretary of State, Mr. Marco Rubio overtly requested the Cuban folks on Twitter for ” a discreet partnership with the CIA” to overthrow the federal government of Cuba
The incitement adopted the assertion credited to President Trump in Florida that he was going to ship Marco Rubio “to end the deal” with Cuba. The incitement of the United States and the genocidal sanctions imposed on Cuba represent a provocative infringement of the human rights of the Cuban folks to self dedication assured by the United Nations Charter.
ILLEGALITY OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON CUBA
The harsh financial sanctions imposed on Cuba by President are allegedly based mostly on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). As if that was not sufficient, the US authorities threatened to impose tariffs on any nation that exports oil to Cuba. However, within the case of Learning Resources Inc et al v Trump, President of the United States et al No 24-1287 of February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that President Trump’s tariffs which might be based mostly on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—are unconstitutional.
The judges emphatically acknowledged that the statute doesn’t authorize using tariffs and that the President doesn’t have authority to tax. The court docket particularly acknowledged the ability to tax, together with the imposition of tariffs, lies solely with the US Congress, in accordance with the US Constitution. The implication of the historic judgment is that President Donald Trump’s Executive Order imposing tariffs on nations promoting oil to Cuba underneath the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is prohibited, null and void having exceeded the President’s constitutional authority.
Since President Trump has absolute contempt for the rule of legislation, he has recklessly subjected the Justices of the Supreme Court who delivered the epochal judgment to spurious assaults. We are compelled to name on the Congress of the United States to implement the judgment by lifting the unilateral sanctions imposed on Cuba by Mr. Trump which have induced humanitarian disaster in Cuba. As the Cuban folks have the inalienable proper to decide on their very own political system, the specter of President Trump to pressure them to undertake capitalism can’t be justified underneath worldwide legislation.
The US Congress must have realised that humanity allies with the Cuban folks of their principled stand to reside a lifetime of dignity, free from threats and sanctions, and in accordance with the precise of all nations to sovereignty. As no nation ought to be subjected to exterior interference, coercive measures, or financial blockades that undermine its sovereignty and the welfare of its folks, the US embargo and all sanctions imposed on Cuba ought to be lifted in accordance with standing UN resolutions and, that the world physique ought to sanction the US, if it fails to take action
ON DUTY OF AFRICAN PEOPLE TO SUPPORT CUBA
It is indeniable that Cuba’s historic internationalism and solidarity with Africa contributed to the defeat of colonialism, and minority rule in Africa. Without anticipating any materials achieve, Cuba shed the blood of its youth for Africa. Not lower than 4,300 Cubans paid the supreme sacrifice in conflicts in Africa, with half of them in Angola alone. The hundreds of Cuban medical doctors and different medical personnel despatched to Africa and the numerous African college students educated in medication in Cuba have mixed to avoid wasting the lives of thousands and thousands of African folks.
Having regard to the unquantified contribution of Cuba to the independence wrestle of the African folks, all African nations owe it an obligation to help Cuba to defend its sovereignty underneath worldwide legislation. After all, Cuba is the one nation whose heroic youths shed their blood for the liberation and improvement of African nations. In view of the big contribution of the Cuban folks to the wrestle for independence in Africa, the member states of the African Union should rally spherical Cuba in defending her sovereignty and proper to self- dedication. Despite the doubtful marketing campaign and blackmail of the Trump administration, African nations owe it an obligation to vote on the United Nations from October 27-28, 2026 in opposition to the sanctions and embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States with none authorized justification.
*Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, delivered the speech on the rally held by the Nigeria Solidarity Movement with Cuba in Lagos on October 24, 2026.
