A gathering of left-wing political leaders from across the globe held in Barcelona on Saturday has drawn international attention, after three major regional heads of state issued a joint statement sounding the alarm over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Cuba while reaffirming unwavering support for the Caribbean island’s territorial sovereignty and self-determination.
Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, co-authored the statement, which explicitly pushed back against the sustained pressure campaign led by U.S. President Donald Trump that aims to force regime change in Havana. The three leaders committed their administrations to expanding existing humanitarian assistance programs to Cuba to help alleviate ongoing hardship on the island.
In their formal statement, the trio emphasized that any sustainable resolution to Cuba’s current challenges must center the fundamental right of the Cuban people to shape their own future in full autonomy. They also issued a clear warning against actions that violate established international law as outlined in the United Nations Charter, a direct reference to Washington’s unilateral coercive measures against Havana.
The United States has maintained a sweeping trade embargo against Cuba since the Cold War era, but the Trump administration has drastically escalated economic and political pressure on the island in recent months. Since January, Washington has banned all imports of Venezuelan crude oil, and has threatened to impose harsh secondary sanctions on any third-party countries that continue to supply fuel to Cuba. This pressure campaign has already triggered severe fuel shortages and widespread rolling power outages across Cuba, exacerbating existing humanitarian struggles.
Trump has also ramped up rhetorical aggression against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, recently suggesting that the U.S. could launch military intervention in Cuba once the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict is resolved.
During the Barcelona summit, Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez delivered a sharp rebuke of right-wing populist movements and growing attacks on multilateralism, stopping short of naming Trump directly. The U.S. president responded within hours via social media, attacking Spain for its refusal to allow the U.S. to use Spanish military bases for regional operations and criticizing Madrid’s alleged insufficient defense spending.
Despite mounting international pressure from Washington, Díaz-Canel maintained a defiant stance during a Thursday address marking the 65th anniversary of Cuba’s socialist revolution. He warned the Cuban public of the rising risk of foreign military aggression and stressed the nation’s obligation to maintain full defensive preparedness to protect its sovereignty.