[News] Cuba, China, Latin America and US Hybrid War

Anti-Imperialist News news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Dec 3 03:06:43 EST 2021


orinocotribune.com
<https://orinocotribune.com/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/> Cuba,
China, Latin America and US Hybrid War
------------------------------

By John Ross – Nov 26, 2021

*This analysis by John Ross of the Renmin University of China looks at the
long relationship between China and Cuba. He analyzes why it is important
to defeat the US attack on Cuba. *


*Foreword by China Environment editors *Cuba joined Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI) in 2019, hoping it would assist in strengthening its
troubled economy, which has been badly hit by aggressive US sanctions for
decades. China already become Cuba’s main trading partner in 2017. In
October this year (2021) Cuba officially became a member of the *Alliance
for Energy of the Belt and Road Initiative*, a project to build an
international energy mega-platform for cooperation and exchange under the
principle of shared profit. The Alliance currently has 29 member countries.

John Ross’s article does not deal with the BRI or Cuba environmental and
energy cooperation with China. However, it provides a good understanding of
the broader geopolitical context in which this cooperation is occurring,
and is useful for those seeking to understand the broader strategic and
economic context Cuba-China cooperation and friendship..


*Supporting Cuba crucial for Latin America and the World *The US in Latin
America is at present once again seeing a series of countries attempting to
follow independent policies, corresponding to their national interests, and
some with a socialist orientation, rather than subordinating themselves to
the US. These countries typically reject the current US cold war against
China and indeed seek win-win relations with China. The US is responding to
this trend by tightening its blockade of Cuba in an attempt to strangle
that country in the hope of provoking a “colour counter-revolution”. This
anti-Cuba US blockade is being carrying out in open defiance of an
overwhelming majority of world opinion, as shown in the recent vote in the
UN General Assembly of 184-2 against the US economic sanctions against Cuba.

The US in Latin America is at present once again seeing a series of
countries attempting to follow independent policies, corresponding to their
national interests, and some with a socialist orientation, rather than
subordinating themselves to the US. These countries typically reject the
current US cold war against China and indeed seek win-win relations with
China. The US is responding to this trend by tightening its blockade of
Cuba in an attempt to strangle that country in the hope of provoking a
“colour counter-revolution”. This anti-Cuba US blockade is being carrying
out in open defiance of an overwhelming majority of world opinion, as shown
in the recent vote in the UN General Assembly of 184-2 against the US
economic sanctions against Cuba.

If the US succeeds in this open defiance of world opinion on Cuba it will
be emboldened to strengthen its attack on every other country it choses.
The implications of this intensified US attempt to strangle Cuba go far
beyond that country. As will be seen it affects the entire Latin American
continent – and through that will have a significant effect on the world
geopolitical situation. This article therefore examines this US offensive,
the attempt to create a colour counter-revolution  – and why Cuba is key to
the situation in Latin America.
<https://havana-live.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Download-2-2-1030x541.jpg>One
of the new Chinese-built Cuban long-distance trains. The wagons were
designed in China and took into consideration suggestions made by Cuban
specialists. The upgraded track travels 835 km between Havana and Santiago
de Cuba, the second-largest city in Cuba. (Photo: Vicente Brito /
Escambray).


*The new situation in Latin America *From the standpoint of US attempts to
subordinate Latin America countries to its interests’ recent events in that
continent are significantly disturbing.

•  A pro-US coup d’etat in Bolivia in 2019, to remove President Evo
Morales, was defeated when in October 2020 Luis Arce, candidate of the
Movement Towards Socialism, won a crushing victory in the presidential
election. Bolivia’s new government has declared it will return to
cooperation with China, particularly in such strategic fields as lithium
production, and former President Morales spoke at the recent Summit of the
CPC and World Political Parties during the session at which Xi Jinping was
the first speaker.
•  Argentina is clearly seeking friendly relations with China – as shown by
its president Alberto Fernández also speaking at the recent Summit of the
CPC and World Political Parties, again in the session at which the opening
speech was given by Xi Jinping.
•  In the recent presidential election in Peru the candidate opposed by the
US, Pedro Castillo, was elected – defeating the attempt by US backed forces
to overturn the majority of the popular vote which was won by Castillo.
•  Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel was another speaker in the session
with Xi Jinping at the recent summit of the CPC and World Political Parties.

RELATED CONTENT: Cuba Now Part of China’s Belt and Road Energy Alliance
<https://orinocotribune.com/cuba-now-part-of-chinas-belt-and-road-energy-alliance/>

Opinion polls in Brazil
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
show
former President Lula with a crushing 26% lead, 49% to 23%, against the
present pro-US President Bolsonaro in voting intentions for the 2022
Presidential election. Both former President Lula and former President
Rousseff have recently made clear they would end Brazil’s support for the
US cold war against China and seek active re-engagement in BRICS.

In summary, public opinion in Latin America is shifting against the US, in
favour of national independence, and the policy by a number of governments
is also moving against the cold war with China. This has implications which
go even beyond Latin America, to affect the geopolitical situation, through
trade and investment, and due to the votes of these countries in the United
Nations and other international bodies.


*The sanctions against Cuba *Faced with this increased trend of Latin
America countries pursuing more independent policies, and refusing to join
the cold war against China, the US has recently responded in a number of
ways which indicate its concern – such as sending the head of the CIA to
Brazil to discuss with that country’s government with the obvious intention
of trying to ensure that Lula does not win the forthcoming election. But a
central part of the US attempt to ensure Latin American countries remain
subordinated to it has been to intensify its sanctions against Cuba.

The Trump administration already tightened the sixty year-old US economic
blockade of Cuba blockade by imposing 243 extra sanctions
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
–
all of which were retained in place by Biden. These intensified food,
medical and fuel shortages in Cuba even before the Covid pandemic struck.
Banks are increasingly refusing to transfer funds to Cuba for fear of US
fines, and it is now almost impossible for Cubans living abroad to transfer
money to their families on the island.

COVID-19 was a particularly serious blow to Cuba’s economy because one of
Cuba’s chief sources of foreign currency was from international tourism –
which was down 94 per cent in the first four months of 2021 due to the
pandemic.

The US then responded to this situation by deliberately targeting cutting
off medical supplies to Cuba – preventing delivery of COVID-19 medical
requirements such as ventilators, personal protection supplies, and testing
equipment. Despite having five home-grown vaccines, Cuba’s vaccination
roll-out programme is hindered by a lack of syringes and raw materials as a
direct result of the blockade.

As the well-known US magazine The Nation
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
noted:
“Imagine a country developing and producing its own Covid-19 vaccines,
enough to cover its entire population, but being unable to inoculate
everyone because of a syringe shortage. This absurd situation is real… Cuba
has already vaccinated about 2 million of its 11 million people, and hopes
to have 70 percent of the population vaccinated by August. Yet, because of
the 60-year US embargo, which punishes civilians during a pandemic, the
country is facing a shortage of millions of syringes.

“It makes little sense that a country so advanced in biotech and
pharmaceuticals should have trouble sourcing syringes. This reality is a
consequence of what amounts to US economic warfare, which makes it
extremely difficult for Cuba to acquire medicine, equipment, and supplies
from vendors or transportation companies that do business in or with the
United States. Syringes are in short supply internationally, so no company
wants to be bogged down navigating the complicated banking and licensing
demands the US government places on transactions with Cuba…

“Cuba’s achievements in health are a model and a demonstrable benefit for
the entire world—one that the United States should be supporting. This is a
country that is developing its economy through health and education—a
project that began 60 years ago with rural literacy and health campaigns.
Cuba’s public health system has allowed it to outperform much of the world
in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality and, most recently, per
capita pandemic statistics.

“On the first day of the new administration, President Biden issued a
national security directive calling for a review of the impact of sanctions
on the response to the pandemic, with an eye toward offering relief. Hope
for a sensible US policy toward Cuba was once again kindled. Now, almost
half a year into the Biden administration, the Trump-era policies of
“maximum pressure” remain in place. The White House has made it clear that
improving Cuba-US relations—and with them, the daily lives of the Cuban
people—is not a priority.”

Indeed, Cuba’s achievements in health are astonishing. Life expectancy in
Cuba, a developing country, at 78.80 years is actually slightly higher than
in the US. The US by attacking Cuba’s medical supplies, faced with a
pandemic, is literally aiming to kill Cuban people. This illustrates
clearly the falsity of the US claim to stand for “human rights”.

This present US policy is entirely deliberate and follows from the original
US State Department memorandum on the blockade in 1960 which stated: “The
only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through
disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and
hardship… every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the
economic life of Cuba… a line of action which, while as adroit and
inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and
supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about
hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.”

This is, of course, in line with the US formula for “colour revolutions”
and “hybrid warfare” which has been carried out against numerous countries
– and which is currently being employed against China in Hong Kong and in
attempts to economically destabilise Xinjiang through sanctions.


*“Hybrid war” and “colour revolutions” *Another side of this hybrid war,
the attempt to create a colour revolution, is the spending by the US of
hundreds of millions of dollars a year on so-called “democracy promotion”
on Cuba, via organisations such as the National Endowment for Democracy –
which funds groups and individuals who work undercover attempting to build
US-supported opposition. Once again China is familiar with such methods
from events in Hong Kong.

While the overwhelming majority of the Cuban people have not gone along
with these attempts at hybrid war there are of course, as there were in
Hong Kong, certain minority politically backward groups, and those who has
simply been bought by the US, who have attempted to stage protests. Cuban
President Miguel Díaz-Canel for example referred
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
to:
“In a very cowardly, subtle and opportunistic and perverse way, from the
most complicated situations that we have had in provinces such as Matanzas
and Ciego de Ávila, those who have always approved the blockade and who
serve as mercenaries of the Yankee blockade on the streets, begin to appear
with doctrines of humanitarian aid and a ‘humanitarian corridor.’ We all
know where they come from.”

The US intensification of sanctions, together with the strain on the
medical system created by COVID19, is leading to fuel shortages and power
cuts, which in the height of summer means that air conditioning and fridges
don’t work. The shortages create queues for medicines and basic goods which
led to protests which were then exploited by pro-US elements. This, again,
is the same pattern as in Hong Kong – where protests about legitimate
issues, such as the high price of housing, were exploited by separatists
who as usual falsely presented themselves under the banner of “democracy”
and “human rights”.

Similarly, as also with Hong Kong, the US verbally declares its support for
the “Cuban people” – as it does with the Chinese people. But in reality, by
cutting off medical supplies and other goods the US is trying to impose
hardship on the Cuban people. If those in the US administration proclaiming
their support for “humanitarian aid” to Cuba were genuine in their
intentions they would start with calling for the US blockade to be lifted
to allow medical and other supplies to be sent to Cuba. However, of course
the true objectives of the blockade are precisely to inflict suffering on
the Cuban people.

But why is the US attempting to use so much pressure to try to damage Cuba?
After all Cuba is a small country with a population of only 11 million –
significantly smaller than the state of New York! To understand the
reasons, it is necessary to consider the historical relation of the US and
Latin America and the key role played by Cuba in this.


*Latin America and the US *One of the very earliest and most fundamental
steps in US policy to expand its international power came following the
successful wars of national liberation by all Spain’s former colonies in
Latin American, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico, during the first quarter
of the 19th century. The US directly intervened into this process of the
attempt of Latin America to achieve national independence by declaring the
“Monroe Doctrine” in 1823. Formally this declared that any intervention in
the politics of the Western hemisphere by foreign powers would be
considered a  potentially hostile act against the United States. But the
factual content of this doctrine was that the US claimed Latin America as
its “backyard” – in which it, as an emerging great power, would control the
countries of Latin America. This began the long record of US invasions, US
supported coup d’etats, US supported dictatorships, and other interventions
in that continent. Latin American countries which the US has either
directly invaded, or in which it supported coup d’etats or dictatorships,
include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican
Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Uruguay, Venezuela.

There were, of course, attempts by the Latin American peoples to resist
this long record of US dominance. These, in some cases, took the form of
armed struggle – as by Augusto Sandino in Nicaragua in 1927-34, or the
Communist Farabundo Martí in El Salvador in 1932. In other cases, there
were nationalist bourgeois regimes – such as that of Getúlio Vargas in
Brazil or Juan Peron in Argentina. But despite these periodic challenges to
its supremacy the US always succeeded in regaining control of the situation.

Then during the Cold War with the USSR this control by the US of its Latin
American “backyard” was formalised in the creation in April 1948 of the
Organization of American States (OAS). The member states of the OAS pledged
to fight communism on the American continent.


*The Cuban revolution *The Cuban revolution of 1959, led by Fidel Castro,
was therefore a stunning blow to the US. Not merely was socialism
established in a state in the Western hemisphere, but the revolution proved
popular and capable of fighting off all attempts by the US over six decades
to overthrow it – most spectacularly in the defeat of the US backed
attempted invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.

The Cuban leadership also proved itself highly skilful in a wide field of
international relations. On the one hand Cuba acquired enormous prestige in
Africa among progressive forces through its intervention to ensure the
military defeat of international military aggression by the racist South
African army in the late 1980s – Nelson Mandela referred to Fidel Castro as
“a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people.” But at the same
time Cuba was able to maintain friendly relations with right wing governed
countries such as Spain, Britain and Mexico. This skill in wide ranging
diplomacy was seen again recently in the 184-2 vote in the United Nations
against the US economic blockade of Cuba.

But, of course, Cuba had particularly close relations with its own
continent of Latin America. It is no exaggeration to say that virtually
without exception every progressive leader in Latin America, whether simply
seeking national independence or socialism, was an admirer of Fidel Castro.
Within Latin America for progressive forces Fidel Castro had an prestige
comparable to Mao Zedong in China. This extended beyond merely political
figures to cultural and sporting icons – Gabriel García Márquez, widely
considered the greatest Latin American literary figure of the 20th century,
was a friend of Castro while the famous Argentinian footballer Diego
Maradona had a tattoo of Fidel Castro on his leg!

But, in addition to the immense authority gained by Fidel Castro through
leadership of the Cuban revolution in 1959, he also took a step which none
of the other leaders of progressive parties in Latin America did. After the
1959 revolution he created a real Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. It was
the solidity of this organisation, and the leadership that it could give in
numerous areas of society and politics, that explained the success of Cuba
in resisting decades of US aggression and in developing the political line
which brought Cuba such widespread international recognition.


*Xi Jinping on Fidel Castro *These achievements of the Cuban revolution and
Fidel Castro were fully understood by China and its leadership. Xi Jinping
took the exceptional step of visiting the Cuban embassy in Beijing to
formally express condolences on Fidel Castro’s death. It is simply
necessary to note the full statement made by Xi Jinping on the death of
Fidel Castro:

“Distressed to learn of the passing away of Cuban revolutionary leader
Fidel Castro, I, in the name of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese
government and people and in my own name, express my deepest condolences to
you and through you to the Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban government
and people, and my sincerest sympathy to Fidel Castro’s family.

“Fidel Castro, founder of the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuba’s socialist
cause, is a great leader of the Cuban people. He has devoted all his life
to the Cuban people’s great cause of struggle for national liberation,
safeguarding state sovereignty and building socialism.

“He has made immortal historic contributions to the Cuban people and to
world socialist development. Comrade Fidel Castro is a great figure of our
times and will be remembered by history and people.

“I met with Comrade Fidel Castro many times and held in-depth conversations
with him. His real knowledge and deep insight inspired me as his voice and
expression live in my memory. Both I and the Chinese people miss him deeply.

“Comrade Fidel Castro, who dedicated his life to the friendship between
China and Cuba, paid close attention to and spoke highly of China’s
development.

“As a result of his care and support, Cuba became the first Latin American
country to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1960. Since then, the
two countries have witnessed the profound development of bilateral ties,
fruitful results of cooperation in a wide range of areas and deepening
friendship between the two peoples, thanks to Comrade Fidel Castro’s
solicitude and painstaking efforts.

“The death of Comrade Fidel Castro is a great loss to the Cuban and Latin
American people. The Cuban and Latin American people lost an excellent son,
and the Chinese people lost a close comrade and sincere friend. His
glorious image and great achievements will go down in history.

“I believe that under the strong leadership of Comrade Raul Castro, the
Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban government and its people will carry on
the unfinished lifework of Comrade Fidel Castro, turn sorrow into strength
and keep making new achievements in the cause of socialist construction.

“The friendship between two parties, the two countries and the two peoples
will definitely be consolidated and further developed.

“The great Comrade Fidel Castro will be remembered forever.”


*Fidel Castro on China *Fidel Castro in turn expressed his great admiration
for China. This is what he said:“If you want to talk about socialism, let
us not forget what socialism achieved in China. At one time it was the land
of hunger, poverty, disasters. Today there is none of that… China is a
socialist country… And they insist that they have introduced all the
necessary reforms in order to motivate national development and to continue
seeking the objectives of socialism.”

“The Chinese process counted… with the contributions of great and brilliant
political thinkers, who continued to develop and enrich the doctrines of
socialism.

“China has objectively become the most promising hope and the best example
for all Third World countries.”

Regarding Xi Jinping Fidel Castro stated: “Xi Jinping is one of the
strongest and most capable revolutionary leaders I have met in my life.”

*Attack on Cuba*
>From these facts it can be easily seen why the US is concentrating its
attacks on Cuba and why the outcome of these attacks affects not only just
Cuba itself. Cuba has the strongest Communist Party in Latin America. Its
leadership has state power. It is the centre of the network of forces
fighting for national liberation and socialism in Latin America. If the US
can succeed through its hybrid war in carrying out a colour revolution in
Cuba it will break up the central element of progressive forces in Latin
America. That in turn will have far wider geopolitical consequences.

If Latin America can be returned to full control of the US the movement of
developing countries, the Global South, will be weakened and broken up.
This will be used by the US to weaken the position of China – as, after
China’s own development, the Global South is the strongest force opposing
the US cold war against China. In addition to other aspects this will be
seen every directly at the UN – Cuba, for example, took the lead
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
on
an international statement at the UN of countries supporting China on
Xinjiang.

At the UN China regularly gains more votes than the US when the latter
launches attacks on China – this was shown recently in votes on both Hong
Kong and Xinjiang. If the US were to against reduce Latin America to its
“backyard” this would be a major step towards its goal of regaining control
of the UN.

The consequences of Cuba being central to the network of countries in Latin
America supporting national independence and good relations with China can
be seen not only in the overwhelming majority vote in the UN against the US
embargo on Cuba but also in the statements by Latin American leaders
against US actions against Cuba and calling for trade restrictions to be
lifted. These countries strongly overlap with those countries in Latin
America which have good relations with China – some of which were referred
to at the beginning of this article.

Therefore allies of the US, such as the present right-wing government of
Peru, Brazil
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>,
and Chile, immediately issued statements supporting protests in Cuba that
were intended as an attempt to lead up to a colour revolution in Cuba –
Brazil was also one of only three countries at the UN to abstain on the
resolution against the US trade embargo against Cuba. Supporters of an
independent path of development in Latin America, such as former president
Evo Morales and President of Mexico
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador, on the contrary rightly pointed out that it was the
US embargo which was preventing Cuba from getting the necessary medical and
other supplies – and this was being carried out against the wishes of the
overwhelming majority of countries.

Evo Morales, for example stated, on the situation in Cuba
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>:
“Our solidarity is with the brother Cuban people. The real fight for
freedom in Cuba is to end the criminal blockade of more than 60 years. Its
‘sin’ was to create a vaccine with more than 92% effectiveness that
affected capitalist interests. Cuba will defeat interventionism.”

In Brazil, the largest Latin American country, there was an open clash
about the situation of Cuba between Bolsonaro, who supported the pro-colour
revolution forces, and the Workers Party (PT). This exactly paralleled
their international orientations – with the pro-US policies of Bolsonaro
and stress on independence and good relations with China by the PT.

Thus Dilma Rousseff
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>,
the former president of Brazil, who had been a strong supporter of BRICS
(the Brazil, India, China and South Africa group of countries), and
recently spoke a New Cold War conference in Brazil opposing a US cold war
with China, declared: “60 years of economic and financial blockade of Cuba
by the United States are subjecting the Cuban people to enormous
sacrifices, which have become even more accentuated since the beginning of
the Covid19 pandemic. The American blockade, which has already been
condemned 29 times by the UN, imposes very serious deprivation on a small
country that has been an example of solidarity, sending doctors around the
world to help fight the health crisis. While Cuba offers humanity health
professionals, it receives, in exchange, from the USA, in the midst of a
pandemic, a cowardly embargo, which is repudiated by almost all countries
in the world. I express my support to the Cuban people and to [Cuban]
President Miguel Diaz-Canel.”

The Workers Party
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>
of
Brazil issued a formal declaration: “The Workers’ Party (PT) expresses its
unconditional support and solidarity to the people and government of the
sister Republic of Cuba, which for six decades have been victims of a
blockade by the United States of America (USA), damaging trade and
diplomatic relations the country with the rest of the world.

“On June 23, the PT expressed its opinion on the vote by the member
countries of the United Nations (UN) regarding the blockade, which was
condemned by an overwhelming majority with 184 votes, with only two votes
in defense of the blockade (USA and Israel) and three abstentions (Brazil,
Colombia and Ukraine). This UN position is the same since the issue was
first voted on.

“The Cuban people are the main victims of this long and criminal blockade,
being excluded from regular conditions for a dignified life, which could be
achieved in a situation of normality.

“Combined with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the
country had difficult access to food, sanitary material and financial
resources at a time of extreme need. In addition, the pandemic led to the
worsening of the domestic economic situation, as a result of a drastic drop
in earnings from tourism, one of the main sources of income in the country.

“Against all these adversities, Cuba managed to develop a vaccine against
SARS-CoV-2, using its own technology, being in an advanced stage of
internal vaccination and have even been able to export doses to other
countries.

“Based on the above, the PT condemns those who – like the US government –
speak of ‘humanitarian aid’ while maintaining the blockade and approving
financial resources for opposition groups.

“The PT reaffirms its unrestricted condemnation of the blockade and demands
its immediate lifting for humanitarian reasons, respect for international
law and the inalienable right of peoples for their sovereignty and
self-determination.”

China has, of course, taken the same position on Cuba’s national
independence as progressive forces in Latin America. China’s Embassy in
Cuba repeated a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson’s declaration
<https://china-environment-news.com/2021/11/26/cuba-china-latin-america-and-us-hybrid-war/blank>:
“”China firmly opposes interference of external forces in internal affairs
of Cuba, firmly supports Cuban side versus the COVID-19 pandemic, in
improving quality of life of the population & maintaining stability.”
China’s spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zhao Lijian
declared:  “China urges the United States to immediately and completely
lift the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. This is
the universal call of the international community.”

The very large scale of the stakes in this struggle around Cuba, both for
Latin America and internationally, are therefore clear. In words the US
claims it stands for an international “rules-based order” but in fact the
issue of the blockade of Cuba shows clearly the US is attempting to
unilaterally impose its international policies against the overwhelming
majority of the world’s countries. If the US is successful in its attack on
Cuba, by use of a hybrid war, it will intensify such attacks in many other
places.


*The consequences if the US is successful in its hybrid war *It is
therefore clear that the consequences of the present US attack on Cuba go
far beyond that country. It the present US economic and medical attack on
Cuba were successful in producing a “colour revolution”:

•  It would remove the strongest and most prestigious force fighting for
national independence in Latin America.
•  It would greatly aid the US in breaking up the network of countries
seeking to pursue a path of national independence in Latin America.
•  By weakening the Global South, it would strengthen the US geopolitical
position against China.
•  It would convince the US that its unilateral actions can overrule the
international community even when the US is in a tiny minority – thereby
encouraging increasingly aggressive US actions.
•  International experience confirms that when the US feels strong it is
more aggressive and when it suffers setbacks it is more “peace loving”.
Thus, for example, when the US felt weak because it was losing the war in
Vietnam it launched détente, including with China, and restrained for a
period from aggressive international military operations. And when the US
felt weaker because it had suffered the international financial crisis it
stressed international economic cooperation including with China. However,
when the US felt it had recovered from its defeat in Vietnam, and was faced
with the weak policies of Gorbachev, it launched a new military build-up
and internationally aggressive policies, while when it felt stronger
because it had recovered from the international financial crisis it
launched trade aggression and the new cold war against China. Success by
the US against Cuba, by strengthening the US would, therefore, be followed
by new aggressive behaviour by the US.

Therefore, the outcome of the US hybrid war against Cuba would have
profound negative implications in Latin America and internationally.

*In conclusion*
The present situation means the world faces a major geopolitical choice –
which involves either a major win-win or a major lose-lose for numerous
countries. The US faces a situation in Latin America of the rise of
countries and movements which are pushing for nationally independent paths
of development. To pursue this these countries break from US cold war
policies against China and pursue win-win relations with China. For
historical reasons in Latin America, Cuba is at the centre of these
developments. Therefore, the US is attempting to concentrate its strength
against this small country – knowing that if it can defeat it, the US will
impose a huge defeat on the movement for national independence and
socialism in Latin America. The US, while proclaiming its support for
“human rights” and a “rules based international order”, is in reality
trying to impose the maximum suffering on Cuba in a unilateral way in total
defiance of the overwhelming majority of international opinion.

RELATED CONTENT: Cuba, China, Latin America and the World
<https://orinocotribune.com/cuba-china-latin-america-and-the-world/>

The US in making this attack is gambling on the rest of the world giving in
to its unilateral blackmail. Because while the downside consequences of a
defeat of Cuba would be extremely large and negative for the cause of
national independence, and for China, precisely because Cuba is a small
country the assistance it requires to achieve decisive help in defeating
this US aggression is very small in international terms. Some of Cuba’s
needs, indeed, are ridiculously small – for example Cuba can produce its
own COVID19 vaccines and simply needs syringes to administer them. Even
voluntary help can be useful. For example, the US peace organisation
Codepink has exploited opposition, even within the US, to attempts to
prevent sending syringes to Cuba to gain the legal right to send them. It
noted its aim was to: “raise $100,000 to send syringes to Cuba!… We are
very excited that our friends at Global Health Partners have just received
a Commerce Department license to send syringes to Cuba. Together with the
Saving Lives Campaign, The People’s Forum and others, we are trying to
quickly raise $100,000 to send about 3 million syringes. When we raise more
than that, we will help Cuba with other health-related needs!”

Cuba only needs around 30 million syringes to vaccinate its entire
population – that is a million dollars. This is a tiny sum for the
countries, either together or even individually, which oppose the blockade
of Cuba. The resources needed to deal with other difficulties in Cuba, such
as ventilators, fuel supplies, food supplies, or even the size of its
international debt, are tiny compared to the resources of countries that
are against the blockade. The US aims to demonstrate that although it knows
an overwhelming majority of countries in the world could meet the needs of
such a small country as Cuba it intends to try to intimidate them into not
doing so. If it does so successfully then it will be even more aggressive
towards other countries.

For 62 years Cuba has given its support to the world in numerous ways.
Prior to Covid19 and the tightening of US sanctions it had been rebuilding
its economy – aided by international tourism and international medical
services it could supply. But now it needs support from the world. But this
is a win-win. Because it is a small country with a huge international
impact the resources Cuba needs to most successfully aid it through the
present problems created by the US blockade are tiny compared to the
enormous benefits Cuba delivers to those countries opposing US aggression
and cold war politics. Defeat of Cuba, that is success of the US in its
hybrid war, would be a huge step forward for the US in its fight against
national independence in Latin America and throughout the world, and in the
fight against the new cold war against China.

It is for this reason that the situation in Cuba is today the key to the
situation in Latin America and is of crucial importance throughout the
world.

* John Ross is a senior fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial
Studies, Renmin University of China.*




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