On Cuba’s annual Jurist’s Day, marking the 49th anniversary of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba (UNJC), legal professionals across the nation have issued a unified rebuke of heightened coercive measures and the ongoing energy blockade imposed by the United States, while reaffirming their unwavering commitment to defending the country’s sovereignty, socialist legality, and national government. The main national commemorative event was hosted in the eastern province of Guantánamo, which earned the distinction of being named the Most Outstanding Province in UNJC work for the ninth consecutive year, sharing the 2026 honor with six other Cuban regions: Villa Clara, Granma, Havana, Ciego de Ávila, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba.
Presided over by high-ranking Cuban officials including Salvador Valdés Mesa, Vice President of the Republic and member of the Communist Party Political Bureau, and Roberto Morales Ojeda, Organization Secretary of the Party Central Committee, the ceremony also featured a special appearance by veteran Rebel Army Commander José Ramón Machado Ventura. In his keynote address, UNJC national president Alexis Ginarte Gato emphasized the irreplaceable role of Cuba’s legal community in sustaining the socialist state, upholding the rule of law, and shielding national sovereignty from external interference. He reiterated the jurists’ solemn commitment to defending the homeland, advancing social justice, and protecting Cuba’s independent self-determination.
Ginarte Gato specifically condemned the recent escalation of U.S. aggressive actions, labeling the unilateral coercive measures and energy blockade as a deliberate act of genocide against the Cuban people that flagrantly violates fundamental tenets of international law and the United Nations Charter. During the event, the UNJC formally announced the convening of its 10th National Congress, scheduled to take place in June 2027, centered on the core theme: “Strengthening Institutions as a Guarantee of the Country’s Economic and Social Transformation.”
Reading the official 49th anniversary declaration on behalf of the organization, young jurist Patricia Romero Madrigal underscored the community’s dedication to upholding foundational international principles: sovereign equality of all nations, non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Yamila González Ferrer, UNJC vice president, also read a solidarity message from the International Association of Democratic Jurists, which praised the Cuban jurists’ organization for its long-standing commitment to legality, sovereignty, and social justice, and joined Cuba in condemning the intensification of the U.S. blockade, including the executive order-imposed energy restriction, reaffirming the international body’s steadfast solidarity with the Cuban people and their legal community.
Speaking from Guantánamo, the host province, UNJC representatives issued a sharp public warning amid growing U.S. aggression aimed at undermining Cuban resolve, crippling the national economy, and silencing the country’s voice. “When the U.S. government becomes more aggressive in its efforts to break our will, stifle our economy, and silence our voice, Cuban jurists, with our laws and the Constitution as our shield, tell them they will not succeed,” the declaration read, delivered by rising legal professional Lisandra Premión Torres. The document stressed, “In Cuba, the law does not bend, nor does justice negotiate its dignity,” adding that current imperialist threats are merely the latest iteration of a decades-long blockade that operates without basic humanitarian principle, repeatedly violating established international law, agreements, and treaties.
The declaration reiterated: “We reaffirm to our people that the law is on their side, and to the empire, that there will be no retreats, no concessions to blackmail. Not one step back in the defense of our socialist, independent, and sovereign Cuba.” On behalf of Cuba’s younger generation of legal professionals, the proclamation reaffirmed full support for the Cuban government’s position against imperialist threats, noting: “We inherit the tradition of decorum from those who, like Ignacio Agramonte, José Martí, and Fidel Castro, established a revolutionary law at the service of the people.”
Guantánamo was selected to host the national event in recognition of its comprehensive work advancing jurist professional development and cracking down on crime, corruption, illicit activity, and social disorder. During the celebration, which was held in honor of the centennial of Fidel Castro, local authorities inaugurated a new headquarters building for the Guantánamo Provincial People’s Court, constructed at a cost of more than 20 million pesos to improve working conditions for legal professionals defending socialist legality and national sovereignty. The event concluded with honors awarded to individual outstanding lawyers, exemplary local organization chapters, and winners of the national competition for legal scientific societies, attended by Yoel Pérez García, Guantánamo’s First Secretary of the Party, Governor Alis Azahares Torreblanca, and other regional and national authorities.