Welsh activists voice concern over threats to Cuba following Maduro's abduction

Martin Shipton

Left-wing activists in Wales have expressed concern that following Donald Trump’s decision to abduct the president of Venezuela and his wife in order to steal the country’s oil reserves that he will move aggressively against Cuba.

In 1959 an armed revolt on the Caribbean island culminated in the overthrow of the corrupt dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, and the establishment of a Communist government led by Fidel Castro.

In subsequent years Cuba saw huge improvements in health and education outcomes and became seen as an iconic state by many, not least because of the leading role taken in the revolution in its early years by the charismatic Che Guevara.

But the country’s economic development has been seriously hampered by an economic blockade imposed by the United States, which hated the establishment of a socialist state on its doorstep and backed an unsuccessful counter-revolution in 1961 that was defeated at the Bay of Pigs, in the south west of the country.

Strong links have been established over decades between Cuba and Wales, with many trade unionists and others having visited the island on study and exchange trips.

During a rally held in Cardiff city centre to protest against the abduction of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores - during which 32 Cuban army and police officers were killed - the threat to Cuba was spelled out by Dominic MacAskill of Cymru Cuba, the Welsh arm of the Cuban Solidarity Campaign.

Mr MacAskill said: “We unequivocally condemn the US bombing of Venezuela and the kidnapping of its President. This reckless and illegal act of military aggression is a blatant violation of international law and an attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty, regional peace, and the fundamental right of nations to self-determination, free from imperialist violence.

“The use of US air power against Venezuela marks a grave and dangerous escalation. It confirms that Washington has moved beyond economic warfare, covert destabilisation and proxy operations to open military assault. This is not ‘security cooperation’ or ‘counter-narcotics’ – it is an act of war.

“Cymru Cuba calls on the Welsh Government and all Members of the Senedd to publicly condemn the US bombing; demand a halt to all military operations against Venezuela; the return of President Maduro; and oppose any further escalation that threatens catastrophic consequences for the region. Silence is complicity with this blatant imperialist act of aggression.

“For more than two decades, successive US administrations have sought to overthrow Venezuela’s sovereign government through coups, sanctions, diplomatic isolation and economic strangulation. Those measures have inflicted immense suffering on the Venezuelan people. This US action represents the most extreme expression of that long-running campaign: the use of direct military force to impose US political control.

“The attack poses a threat far beyond Venezuela’s borders. US military aggression destabilises the entire Caribbean and Latin America, endangers shipping lanes and energy supplies, and raises the risk of wider regional conflict. It also constitutes a direct threat to Cuba. US attacks on Venezuela are inseparable from Washington’s long-standing objective of isolating, economically suffocating and politically destabilising both Venezuela and Cuba.

“Cymru Cuba stands with Venezuela and Cuba in the face of this aggression. We echo the firm condemnations issued by governments and peoples across the Global South and affirm that no nation has the right to bomb another under false pretexts or imperial ambition.”

There has been speculation that Trump might launch a military attack on Cuba, but members of Cymru Cuba said any such move would be bitterly resisted.

Fidel Castro

Andrew Draper, the group’s media officer, told Nation.Cymru: “Bear in mind that the CIA tried to assassinate Fidel Castro hundreds of times, and that ordinary citizens defeated the Bay of Pigs invasion.

“The revolutionary society means that power is organised bottom up, so for example there are neighbourhood groups, work groups, trade unions active in discussion of national and constitutional affairs. They have what is known as committees for the defence of the revolution (CDR).

“They, for example, discussed amendments to the family code in the constitution, and this was discussed and voted on by millions of people. So resistance to foreign interference will be very deep seated. While people aren’t blind, they are supportive of the revolutionary structure of society and will not welcome interference from the USA. The blockade is designed to strangle the Cuban economy and the further blockade on Venezuelan oil will be felt. It’s sheer imperialism.”