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HAVANA (Reuters) – New Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel arrived in New York on Sunday for his first trip to the United States, where he denounced the US trade embargo for decades against the UN General Assembly. -the media reported.
PHOTO: Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends a meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela on May 30, 2018. REUTERS / Marco Bello / File Photo
Tensions rose between the enemies of the Cold War after US President Donald Trump tightened the embargo last year after resumption of diplomatic relations under his predecessor, Barack Obama. Washington also alleged that a series of health attacks had occurred on American diplomats in Havana.
The Cuban government has stated that no attacks have taken place and that the Trump administration was using everything that had happened – if it did – as a pretext to intensify its hostile position on the island. Communist.
Diaz-Canel, who took the chair of his mentor, Raul Castro, in April, will address UNGA's Nelson Mandela Peace Summit Monday and the General Assembly on Wednesday, according to the Cubadebate.
At this session, Cuba will present, for the 27th year in a row, a resolution calling for an end to the US trade embargo against the island nation.
"We carry the voice of Cuba which comes first and foremost to denounce the abnormal policy of the blockade, a policy that has already failed, which will continue to fail, and which constitutes the longest blockade in the history of humanity" said Diaz-Canel. on arrival, according to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Diaz-Canel's statements on the United States, as on other political issues, have so far largely echoed those of his predecessor, who remains at the head of the Communist Party until 2021.
The non-binding US resolution urges the United States to repeal the embargo on Cuba as soon as possible. Only the US Congress can lift the complete embargo set up more than 50 years ago.
During the week, Diaz-Canel will meet with other foreign leaders, as well as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, US supporters of engagement with Cuba, and members of the Cuban-American community. said Mr. Cubadebate. He will also speak Wednesday night at Riverside Historical Church in New York.
Diaz-Canel made his first trip abroad as president of Venezuela's main ally, Venezuela, in May.
Report by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Peter Cooney
