Puerto Rican Solidarity Groups Defy U.S. Blockade on Cuba

In the face of Trump's oil blockade on Cuba, a group of solidarity activists from Puerto Rico arrived in Havana last Saturday to deliver medicine and medical equipment to the Salvador Allende Hospital, known as "La Covadonga," in the Cerro municipality.

Part of the Nuestra América Convoy, the Puerto Rican solidarity groups included the Committee for Solidarity with Cuba and the Juan Rius Rivera Brigade.

The convoy's arrival was "a ray of light in the middle of the darkness," said Dr. Mylene Vázquez, director of the hospital.

"Cuba and Puerto Rico are two wings of the same bird," said Sebastián Castro, from Committee for Solidarity with Cuba.

TRANSCRIPT

“Cuba and Puerto Rico, two wings of the same bird,” voices from the Puerto Rican delegation chant.

“Long live Cuba!” they shout.

“Long live a free Puerto Rico!” the group adds.

“I’m a documentary filmmaker,” said Sebastián Castro, member of the Committee for Solidarity with Cuba from Puerto Rico.

“I came with the Committee for Solidarity with Cuba, from Puerto Rico,” Castro explained.

“We brought a lot of medicines and medical supplies for different hospitals,” he added.

“As part of the Juan Rius Rivera Brigade, we came to Cuba out of the human commitment we owe to every being who inhabits this earth,” said Alejandro Sáez, member of the Juan Rius Rivera Brigade.

“To hold at least a minimum sense of empathy for those who need us most,” Sáez continued.

“That’s why we’re here at the hospital today,” he added.

“My entire family on my mother's side is Cuban,” Sáez said.

“From right here in Cerro, in Los Bloques neighborhood,” he explained.

“My sister’s here, my aunts, my grandmother, my great-grandfather, my whole family,” Sáez added.

“This is our way of giving back something of what the Puerto Rican people have already received from Cuba because they’ve always supported us,” he said.

“The blockade is affecting the entire population,” said Dr. Mylene Vázquez, director of the Salvador Allende Hospital.

“Especially patients who are sick and suffering far more,” the hospital director added.

“We need them to get the right medications,” she explained.

“Cancer treatments, pain relief, steroids for people with asthma,” Vázquez specified.

“The intensification of U.S. measures, mainly cutting off oil imports, has hit us very hard,” said Dr. Julio César Rodríguez, director of the Municipal Health Directorate of Cerro.

“Because hospitals rely on vital services that depend on electricity,” Rodríguez explained.

“Thanks to our generators we’ve kept those services running,” he added.

“We’re deeply grateful to the people of Puerto Rico and for their help,” Vázquez said.

“Because everything they’ve brought is absolutely essential for our patients,” she added.

“And I truly believe that solidarity is one of the greatest values humanity has,” the doctor stated.

“We always appreciate donations because they allow us to provide quality care for our patients,” Rodríguez said.

“Especially now, as the economic blockade intensifies and directly affects the normal delivery of medical care here in Cuba,” he added.

“Puerto Rico and Cuba you could say shared the same cradle,” Castro said.

“We’ve shared the same project of national liberation,” he explained.

“We have national heroes who died fighting here, alongside Cubans, who also came to help us liberate our land,” Castro added.

“We carry solidarity in our bones, for more than 200 years, with the Cuban nation,” he said.

“Since I arrived on Tuesday I’ve been crying from emotion,” said Alejandro Sáez, member of the Puerto Rico solidarity group.

“Because I know how important this historic moment is, coming here to support the Cuban people,” Sáez explained.

“That is why we’re here, and without doubt we’ll do it again until everything stabilizes,” he added.

“We must begin to practice solidarity more radically with all the peoples who are being repressed and attacked by imperialism,” Castro said.

“And for us, Cuba holds a very special place in our hearts,” he added.

“Because as the poem says: Cuba and Puerto Rico are two wings of the same bird,” Castro concluded.