The Slaughter of Palestinians Exposes US Colonialist Intent for Cuba
In yet another United Nations vote condemning the economic embargo on Cuba, both Israel and the US are the only countries who voted against it
During the most recent vote at the United Nations General Assembly concerning Cuba, 187 nations voted for the “necessity of ending the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.” Similar to resolutions involving Palestine only two countries, the United States and Israel, voted against the resolution while Ukraine abstained from voting.
Since the United States typically rebukes democratic resolutions and rarely adheres to majority decisions at the United Nations, the vote has little significance and the blockade will remain in place. Despite the vote, the United States has codified the economic sanctions into law under pressure from foreign entities from Cuba much like the various laws in 27 states that disallow the boycotting of Israel.
Americans often hear the press and politicians admonish foreign entities getting involved in US politics. In contrast, the country is often involved in internal affairs and interferes in the elections of other countries. However, when it comes to Cuba and Israel, allowing foreign influence seems acceptable because it advances US corporate interests and allows for the privatization of infrastructure and resources it would otherwise not have access to.
While the majority of the world supports Cuba’s right to self-determination - just as it does for Palestinians - imperialist powers refuse to be deterred from their colonialist goals. Like Palestine, Cuba has been oppressed and blockaded for decades. Also like Palestine, the rhetoric against Cuba and equating it with terrorism has ramped up in the last two decades.
Even now, with potential terrorist attacks against Cuba coming at the end of the year, we see the language become more inflammatory and divisive.
The Propaganda Machine
Brittanica defines genocide as, “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race.” Brittanica defines ethnic cleansing as, “the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups.” Both classifications apply to Palestinians and Cubans alike.
What is not often discussed in the West is the connection Cubans and Palestinians have. Most Cubans do not support the genocide of Palestinians except for the few who profess more fascist ideas for the island. The vast majority of Cubans can identify with the atrocious ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as they are forced to leave the island due to the economic sanctions imposed on it. They too know that once they leave, they may never return to the Cuba they once knew.
If you’ve paid attention long enough, the patterns are obvious. Meanwhile, many Cubans in the United States who often take sides with racist white power structures and hate groups continue to push imperialist propaganda that has been perpetuated since the 1960s. Despite US voters becoming more aware of the state-sponsored oppression of Cuba by their government, the tactics haven’t changed largely because they’re ingrained in US policy and codified into law.
The approach of attempting to starve Cubans to convince them to overthrow the government has failed and will continue to fail simply because most Cubans on the island seek change, not an overthrow of the government. The vast majority of Cubans don’t want to go to war with each other and aren’t interested in sending the country into deeper turmoil at the behest of a country that is actively oppressing them.
The few Cubans who do want war don’t seem to care about the people or the island. They care about going back to the type of authoritarianism under US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. It’s their “Make Cuba Great Again” by taking it back to a segregated society when only white Cubans had access to the most basic resources such as healthcare and housing while also being the beneficiaries of the best economic opportunities.
Cuba is yet another US colonialist project destined to fail.
I am a freelance writer, journalist, and publisher of The Antagonist Magazine and a regular contributor at Latino Rebels and Unicorn Riot. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads.