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 army mission to the Kwame Nkrumah authorities in Ghana. And following the independence of Algeria in 1962, Cuba despatched army 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 information and expertise as a guerrilla fighter.
CUBA’S SUPPORT FOR LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN AFRICA
Cuba grew to become a powerful ally of the defunct Organization for African Unity and the African Union within the battle towards 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 said, “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 battle towards European colonial powers in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Angola, Cuba despatched army advisers, fighters and gear. Thousands of Cuban troops have been deployed to help the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) towards 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 army 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 international locations.
During the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015, Cuba offered the biggest medical personnel consisting of over 460 well being staff (together with a contingent of 165 by way of 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 include the “implacable illness”.
In 2020, Cuba dispatched a whole lot of medical personnel to African international locations to assist numerous governments to fight the Covid 19 pandemic. The medical groups offered frontline help in a number of African international locations together with South Africa, Angola, Cape Verde, and Togo that have been going through severe well being disaster. Unlike Western international locations that normally suggest mosquito nets and bug killers for combating the scourge of malaria fever, Cuba has collaborated with some African international locations to work on vector-control applications to eradicate malaria and dengue. In specific, Cuba has helped international locations to construct biolarvicide factories, skilled local people well being brokers, and arrange main care frameworks in rural municipalities in Africa.
No doubt, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 had adversarial political and financial impression 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 international locations to review Medicine, Engineering, Agronomy, Sciences, Humanities and Technology. Apart from Cuba, no nation has offered medical, instructional and army help to African international locations with none strings connected.
GENOCIDAL ATTACKS ON CUBA BY THE UNITED STATES
Cuba is being asphyxiated by the US as a way to perform a regime change that can not be justified beneath worldwide regulation. 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 towards Raul Castro and 5 different Cubans. The deliberate army aggression can also be meant to divert consideration from the monumental shame suffered by the US within the reckless battle being waged towards Iran by the US and Israel. To that extent, the only objective of the indictment of Raul Castro is to justify army aggression towards Cuba. It is a shameful replay of the indictment of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro by U.S. courts, which offered a pretext for the big scale army assault in January 2026 leading to his abduction.
The unilateral United States financial, industrial, and monetary blockade towards Cuba since 1962, is unlawful and a gross violation of the United Nations Charter which promotes worldwide peace and sovereignty of all international locations. In a determined bid to search out justification for its imperialist agenda, the United States added Cuba to its record of nations allegedly sponsoring terrorism. But for the reason that baseless and totally false accusation has by no means been confirmed by the United States, we demand the removing of Cuba from the record 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 brazenly requested the Cuban individuals 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 individuals 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 can be based mostly on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—are unconstitutional.
The judges emphatically said that the statute doesn’t authorize using tariffs and that the President doesn’t have authority to tax. The courtroom particularly said 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 international locations promoting oil to Cuba beneath the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is unlawful, null and void having exceeded the President’s constitutional authority.
Since President Trump has absolute contempt for the rule of regulation, 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 individuals have the inalienable proper to decide on their very own political system, the specter of President Trump to power them to undertake capitalism can’t be justified beneath worldwide regulation.
The US Congress must have realised that humanity allies with the Cuban individuals of their principled stand to dwell a lifetime of dignity, free from threats and sanctions, and in accordance with the fitting of all international locations 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 individuals, 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 acquire, 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 skilled in medication in Cuba have mixed to save lots of the lives of tens of millions of African individuals.
Having regard to the unquantified contribution of Cuba to the independence battle of the African individuals, all African international locations owe it an obligation to help Cuba to defend its sovereignty beneath worldwide regulation. 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 large contribution of the Cuban individuals to the battle 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 international locations owe it an obligation to vote on the United Nations from October 27-28, 2026 towards 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.
