标签： Cuba

On June 27, 2026, the 22nd Congress of the Cuban Workers’ Federation (CTC) drew to a close at Havana’s Convention Palace, with Cuban President and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez delivering a keynote address that framed the nation’s ongoing economic and social restructuring as a deliberate, sovereign effort to preserve socialism amid decades of U.S. aggression. The event, held in what Cuba has named the “Year of the Centennial of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz,” opened with Díaz-Canel extending recognition to host province Pinar del Río, standout regions Villa Clara and Matanzas, and celebrated Guantánamo and Sancti Spíritus for their recent work, drawing applause from assembled delegates.

Díaz-Canel emphasized that the 22nd CTC Congress, scaled back in delegate count and duration to align with strict resource rationing amid Cuba’s current crisis, was non-negotiable to hold. The nation is navigating one of the most severe economic and social challenges in its modern history, he noted, prompting the Communist Party and government to roll out urgent structural transformations, and the CTC — Cuba’s primary labor federation, whose leadership holds voting power in national decision-making in line with the country’s socialist framework — required a full, worker-led debate to cement support for the changes. Under the congress slogan “For Cuba, Together We Create,” two days of deliberations delivered an unambiguous vote of confidence from the country’s working class for the reform agenda, Díaz-Canel confirmed.

“No meaningful progress, from the productivity growth our economy desperately needs to the robust accountability systems that must accompany it, can happen without the intentional, conscious mobilization of Cuban workers,” he told delegates, invoking a decades-old quote from legendary Cuban labor leader Lázaro Peña that remains as relevant as ever: “Our strength lies in that conscious unity that does not ignore difficulties, but rather uses them to overcome them in daily action.”

Díaz-Canel pulled no punches in naming the root cause of Cuba’s current crisis: the long-running U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade — the most enduring punitive embargo in modern history — which he labeled an act of deliberate genocide against the Cuban people. The embargo, escalated in recent months by a full six-month oil embargo and more than 240 new restrictive measures, coupled with Cuba’s unjust designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, has plunged the nation’s power grid into a catastrophic crisis. Widespread blackouts disrupt daily life for Cuban families, paralyze industrial production, force thousands of workers to labor under extreme conditions, and have pushed many into unemployment or involuntary career shifts, he explained.

In response to this pressure, Díaz-Canel argued, passivity is not an option. Echoing six decades of creative resistance to the blockade, he called on workers to embrace innovation as a core survival strategy. He highlighted the countless examples of Cuban work collectives that have overcome chronic shortages of spare parts and supplies by adapting domestic technologies, modifying production processes, and keeping essential services running with limited resources. These localized, creative efforts, he said, are the clearest expression of the conscious unity Peña described: workers who do not shrink from hardship, but turn adversity into progress.

Addressing the historic responsibility of current generations to preserve and advance the Cuban Revolution, Díaz-Canel framed the reform push as an answer to an unprecedented question: how to build a just, sovereign socialist project in a small Caribbean nation that has endured 60 years of unrelenting U.S. pressure, on top of four centuries of colonial rule and decades of neocolonial exploitation. “The economic and social transformations we have approved are not a retreat from socialism — they are an effort to save the Revolution and its core social gains,” he stressed, pushing back against foreign-backed counterrevolutionary propaganda that frames the changes as a step toward capitalism.

Since the reforms were approved by the Communist Party Central Committee and the National Assembly of Cuba, leadership has actively collected input from tens of thousands of Cuban citizens, digital platform users, and independent experts, even as it monitors hostile U.S.-funded media campaigns that seek to force neoliberal restructuring and the dismantling of Cuba’s socialist political model. Díaz-Canel made clear that such demands will never be accepted as part of Cuba’s reform process.

Speaking directly to Cuban compatriots who hold doubts or legitimate concerns about the reform agenda, Díaz-Canel emphasized that the effort is explicitly rooted in economic and social transformation — the “social” component is not an afterthought, but the very core of the project. “These changes are not only about transforming the economy with respect for our natural environment,” he said. “They are about advancing social development and upholding social justice, which is the very essence of the Revolution.”

No existing blueprint exists for building socialism under the prolonged siege Cuba faces, Díaz-Canel noted, pointing to Fidel Castro’s own reflections on adapting socialist theory to Cuban context during the 1990s Special Period crisis. He quoted Castro’s 2005 speech, which argued that dogma has no place in socialist construction: “One conclusion I have reached after many years: among the many mistakes we have all made, the most important mistake was believing that anyone knew about socialism, or that anyone knew how to build socialism. […] We are idiots if we believe, for example, that economics — and I apologize to the tens of thousands of economists in this country — is an exact and eternal science.”

Díaz-Canel reiterated an unambiguous commitment to the core socialist project: “We do not propose, nor will it ever be among our purposes, the restoration of capitalism in Cuba! These transformations are about saving the Revolution and its undeniable social achievements, because we will never renounce the majority aspiration of socialist construction.”

To preserve and expand the Revolution’s landmark gains in universal health care, education, sports, culture, and science, Cuba must generate new material and financial resources that the U.S. blockade has systematically cut off, allowing the state to continue its commitment to fair redistribution. The core goal of the ongoing transformations, he explained, is to unleash Cuba’s productive forces to generate new wealth, which will then be distributed with the maximum possible level of social justice. The process is complex and urgent, he noted, but must be implemented deliberately and responsibly, with the protection of social welfare always prioritized above all other goals.

Díaz-Canel pushed back against claims that the reforms are an improvised concession to U.S. pressure, stressing that they align directly with the Guidelines for the Economic and Social Policy of the Revolution first approved at the 6th Party Congress in 2011, and updated at the 7th and 8th Congresses. Key changes that have drawn recent attention, including increased autonomy for state-owned enterprises and municipal governments, new frameworks for the relationship between central economic planning and market activity, updated rules for foreign direct investment, and expanded investment opportunities for Cuban emigrants, have been part of planned policy updates since late 2025, he confirmed.

Acknowledging that national leadership has delayed past reform efforts while waiting for more favorable conditions and broader collective consensus, Díaz-Canel called for open self-criticism starting from the country’s top leadership. “We cannot afford to repeat this mistake today,” he said, noting that all reforms now have assigned leadership, clear deadlines, and requirements for regular public progress updates. A robust national communication strategy will keep the public informed of changes, adjustments, and challenges at every step, he added.

All measures that can immediately unlock productive capacity will be implemented without delay, Díaz-Canel confirmed. State-owned and non-state economic actors will receive equal treatment based on their contribution to national development and social welfare, with all stakeholders coordinated to generate wealth for equitable redistribution. A core guardrail for all reforms is preventing growing inequality: any step that is expected to widen gaps will be paired with targeted support programs for vulnerable families, communities, and population groups, he said.

Díaz-Canel noted that successful implementation depends on broad, conscious public participation, with labor leaders playing a central role in educating and mobilizing workers. Communication efforts will not just repeat policy announcements, but explain how each reform advances socialist construction, boosts economic growth, expands equitable distribution, and delivers relief to all Cuban households. The debate on reforms remains open, he added: any proposal that improves the existing plan will be reviewed, analyzed, and incorporated if it aligns with the core political, economic, and social goals of the transformation project. Cuba welcomes input from experts across all fields, he said, with the only condition being respect for Cuba’s core socialist principles.

As part of the reform process, Cuba is leveraging modern technology including artificial intelligence to streamline planning and implementation, Díaz-Canel revealed. Cuban computer science and communications professionals have already developed domestic AI models that cut down the time needed for complex analysis from years to days. For example, comparing 176 proposed reform measures to Cuba’s existing legal framework was completed in a fraction of the time required for traditional manual analysis, making it possible to debate and approve the reforms far faster than originally planned. Díaz-Canel noted that AI will be used critically, with attention to its inherent biases, but Cuba will not reject the tool given its ability to accelerate the complex work of reform.

Work is already progressing rapidly to establish clear legal frameworks for all reforms, creating legal certainty for all economic actors with transparent rules for all permitted activities. Parallel to this, new mechanisms will be established to boost transparency and enable robust oversight by workers, civil society, and public institutions, particularly for real estate and asset bidding processes. Public digital platforms will publish all available assets, bidder information, contract awards, and justifications for decisions to ensure full accountability.

Tactically, Díaz-Canel said, immediate implementation of ready-to-launch measures is a top priority: this includes devolving new powers to municipal governments and state-owned enterprises, restructuring State Business Organizations (OSDEs) to unlock productive capacity, and other pre-vetted changes. Strategically, advancing the full legal framework is non-negotiable: without clear legal guardrails, key priorities including state restructuring, social protection, the reform of the foreign exchange market and tax system — two changes critical to ensuring equal treatment for all economic actors — cannot succeed, he explained.

Díaz-Canel highlighted the mass democratic consultation process for Cuba’s new Draft Labor Code, which drew input from more than two million Cuban workers between September and November 2025, in a nod to the Cuban working class’s long tradition of shaping national policy. The CTC Congress captured rank-and-file sentiment, with workers emphasizing that the new code must act as a protective shield for workers amid the changing economic landscape. Key worker demands include guaranteed protection from involuntary job loss in both the state and non-state sectors, and the creation of community brigades that allow displaced workers to contribute to neighborhood development while retaining income and social protection. Workers have also called for the code to not only regulate job duties, but formalize their active participation in workplace decision-making, including a voice and vote on wage setting, profit distribution, and corporate financial transparency. Proposals to modernize work rules, including formalizing telework (including for Cuban workers based abroad) and removing barriers to professionals holding multiple jobs, have also broad support, Díaz-Canel noted. All these priorities confirm that the new code is a modern, worker-centered framework aligned with Cuba’s goal of building a just socialist society, he said.

“Socialism is the work of the workers,” Díaz-Canel stressed, calling on union leaders to move beyond serving as mere transmitters of top-down instructions and become active, meaningful voices in administrative decision-making. He reaffirmed the commitment to building the national Economic Plan from the bottom up, starting with workplaces and economic actors, with workers holding a voice and vote in planning and serving as the primary watchdogs for implementation.

The Cuban labor movement’s role in defending the Revolution can be summarized in five core pillars, Díaz-Canel said: defending national sovereignty and socialism, sustaining constant growth in production and innovation, leading participation and oversight to root out corruption and harmful practices, contributing to local community development, and upholding the historic continuity of the revolutionary project. These pillars guided the 22nd CTC Congress, he noted.

Díaz-Canel closed by congratulating the newly elected CTC National Council and its General Secretary, expressing confidence that the new leadership will uphold the Revolution’s values and deliver the credible, representative organization Cuban workers deserve. Meeting the goals of the congress and the reform agenda requires unwavering will and deep conviction that success is possible, he said, calling on current generations to rise to the historic challenge.

In this centennial year of Fidel Castro’s birth, Díaz-Canel said, current generations will not betray history or tarnish the legacy of Cuba’s heroes and martyrs. “For them, for Cuba, for the future of socialism, we will continue resisting, working, creating, and triumphing!” he declared, closing with the chants that have defined the Cuban Revolution: “Long live the valiant workers, protagonists of the victorious resistance! The Homeland must be defended! For Cuba, together we create! Socialism or Death! Homeland or Death! We shall overcome!”

Hundreds of residents of Pinar del Río, Cuba, poured into the city’s central Independence Park on Saturday to celebrate the announcement that their province has been chosen to host the nation’s official commemoration of the 73rd anniversary of the landmark 1953 attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks. The selection comes as Cuba marks the 100th birth centennial of iconic revolutionary leader Fidel Castro Ruz, adding unique historical weight to the 2026 national event.

Addressing the gathered crowd from a purpose-built event platform, Yamilé Ramos Cordero, First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Pinar del Río, extended congratulations to local residents and emphasized that they were the driving force behind the province’s selection. “We are deeply honored by this recognition, especially since it comes in the year we are commemorating the centennial of our historic leader, Fidel Castro Ruz,” Ramos Cordero told attendees.

Ramos Cordero addressed public questions surrounding the choice of Pinar del Río for the national commemoration amid the country’s ongoing challenging economic and social conditions, framing the selection as a deliberate tribute to everyday Cuban resilience. “It is a tribute to the students, the young people, and the thousands of men and women from all sectors who, day after day, overcome the numerous limitations imposed by the U.S. government’s policy of strangulation on the daily lives of Cubans,” she said. “Throughout our nation, there is an extraordinary effort to move forward, seeking alternatives and solutions to the major problems we face.”

In addition to honoring Pinar del Río, Ramos Cordero congratulated all other provinces that received special recognition from the Communist Party of Cuba’s Political Bureau. She called on all Cubans to use the upcoming July 26 commemoration — a day to honor the revolutionaries who launched the 1953 uprising that laid the foundation for Cuba’s 1959 revolutionary government — as a catalyst for renewed national effort. The anniversary, she said, should motivate continued work, construction, innovation and improvement across all sectors of Cuban society, addressing areas that have yet to reach full potential.

Cuba’s national president and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, has already issued formal congratulations to Pinar del Río and the other recognized provinces for the distinction. For Pinar del Río, this 2026 event marks the fourth time the province has been selected to host the national July 26 commemoration, with previous hosting duties in 1976, 2000 and 2017. This repeated selection underscores the province’s longstanding standing in Cuba’s revolutionary history and its ongoing contributions to national life.

On Thursday, Cuba held a solemn state funeral to honor one of its most revered revolutionary leaders, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, at the Ernesto Che Guevara Sculptural Complex in Santa Clara, drawing hundreds of Villa Clara residents who joined as representatives of the Cuban people to pay their final respects.

Floral tributes were placed at the ceremony on behalf of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz; Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic; the Association of Cuban Combatants; the Cuban people; and Valdés’s immediate family.

In his keynote address at the memorial service, President Díaz-Canel highlighted the extraordinary legacy of a commander who dedicated more than seven decades of his life to the Cuban revolutionary cause, earning his status as an irreplaceable pillar of the nation’s revolutionary movement.

“Amid the deep sorrow of his passing, no matter how full a life he lived or how much he gave to our country, we still feel his absence acutely,” Díaz-Canel told the gathered crowd. “It is only right that we express our gratitude for the outpouring of solidarity from across all of Cuba as we bid him farewell, and for all the lessons we have drawn from his remarkable, exemplary life.”

The president walked attendees through key chapters of Valdés’s decades-long revolutionary career, recalling his participation in the 1953 Moncada Barracks attack, the historic Granma expedition that launched the revolutionary insurgency, and the years of guerrilla struggle in the Sierra Maestra mountains. He also underscored Valdés’s close ideological and personal bond with Ciro Redondo, second-in-command of Column No. 8, and with Ernesto “Che” Guevara — a bond that made Valdés a brother in arms to Guevara throughout the invasion of western Cuba and the decisive Las Villas campaign, which culminated in the landmark victory at the Battle of Santa Clara that sealed the revolution’s success.

Díaz-Canel further recalled that it was this long-standing loyalty and affinity that led Fidel Castro to task Valdés with leading the mission to locate and recover the remains of Che Guevara and his fallen comrades in Bolivia, before transferring their remains to their final resting place in Santa Clara — a assignment Valdés completed with the same meticulous, exemplary dedication that defined all his work for the revolution.

“Ramiro’s life was a lesson in history and moral purpose. He earned the title of hero through his every action, and he never wavered in his absolute faith and loyalty to Fidel and Raúl,” Díaz-Canel said. “His extraordinary life teaches us that the revolution is built on humility and unshakable conviction in ultimate victory.”

The formal burial proceedings opened with the playing of the Cuban National Anthem. Following the president’s address, Valdés’s funeral urn was transferred to a hearse bound for the Mausoleum of the Las Villas Front Combatants, where his mortal remains will be interred alongside fighters of the Reinforcement Detachment commanded by Che Guevara.

The procession carried the two stars marking Valdés’s status as a Hero of the Republic of Cuba and a Hero of Labor, alongside the many decorations and honors he earned for his decades of exceptional service. Resting closest to the urn was a folded Cuban flag, the same flag Valdés brought back from Bolivia along with Guevara’s remains, which he kept close to him for the rest of his life.

Members of the Ceremonial Unit of the Cuban Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior marched alongside the procession to the mausoleum, to the notes of “El Invasor” — the anthem that commemorates the epic history of Column 8 Ciro Redondo, where Valdés served as second-in-command under Guevara.

After Valdés’s ossuary was placed in its final resting place, the first niche of the first row of the Vanguard block, positioned to the right of the eternal flame that Valdés himself lit at the mausoleum’s inauguration on October 8, 2009, three rifle volleys were fired to honor the iconic revolutionary. Following the sounding of Taps, relatives of Valdés — who bore the legacy of being a hero of Moncada, the Granma expedition, and the Sierra Maestra struggle — alongside top revolutionary leaders, laid white roses at the gravesite. The moving moment concluded with a shared embrace between President Díaz-Canel and Valdés’s widow, Alicia Alonso Becerra.

In attendance alongside the national leadership were Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State; Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; Gladys Martínez Verdecia, First Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Artemisa; Rebel Army Commander José Ramón Machado Ventura; members of the Secretariat of the Central Committee; and other senior state and government leaders, joined by the highest provincial authorities of Villa Clara.

In a final reflection on Valdés’s legacy, the event reaffirmed that while the iconic revolutionary never sought the spotlight in the extraordinary project of the Cuban revolution, his place as a central protagonist of the nation’s liberation struggle is secure forever, and his example will continue to shape Cuba for generations to come.

On June 25, 2026 — a year marking the centennial of Fidel Castro Ruz, the Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution — Cuba gathered in Santa Clara’s Ernesto Che Guevara Sculptural Complex to inter the remains of one of its most iconic revolutionary leaders, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez. Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, delivered a moving eulogy honoring the life and legacy of the revolutionary commander at the interment ceremony, held at the Las Villas Front Mausoleum.

Valdés now rests in the historic city he helped liberate as a member of the rebel vanguard led by Che Guevara decades earlier. It is a fitting resting place: the memorial complex where he is interred was a project he oversaw from its earliest planning to its final completion, and it was here that he joined Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro to lay Che Guevara’s remains to rest decades ago. For years, he returned to this mausoleum every time he visited Santa Clara to pay tribute to his fallen comrades-in-arms.

Born into deep poverty in Artemisa’s La Matilde neighborhood, in a home with a dirt floor and cardboard roof that leaked heavier during storms than outside, Valdés inherited unshakable values from his mother Ofelia Menéndez, a follower of Cuban independence icon José Martí. She taught him dignity, honesty, and pride in his humble, upright roots — values that would guide every decision of his 70-plus years of revolutionary service. When Fulgencio Batista seized power in a 1952 coup, a young Valdés immediately aligned with Fidel Castro, drawn to the revolutionary leader’s vision for a free and just Cuba.

Valdés’ place in Cuban revolutionary history was cemented early: he was the first fighter to breach the gates during the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, where he sustained a bullet wound he would later remove himself with a field knife while hiding in the Sierra Maestra mountains. From imprisonment on the Isle of Pines to exile in Mexico, from the historic Granma expedition to the chaotic aftermath of the Alegría de Pío defeat, Valdés never wavered in his commitment to the revolutionary cause. His absolute faith in Fidel and the fight for Cuban sovereignty became his defining trait.

In the Sierra Maestra, Valdés rose to the rank of Commander and served as second-in-command of Che Guevara’s Column 8 during the legendary Western Invasion, a campaign he dreamed of leading as a child reading stories of Cuba’s 19th-century independence fighters. He forged two unbreakable bonds during these years: one with childhood friend and fellow conspirator Ciro Redondo, whose death in the Battle of Mar Verde left a permanent wound, and another with Che Guevara himself. The pair became ideological brothers, and Fidel Castro trusted Valdés so deeply that he assigned him to protect Che’s life. When Che was killed in Bolivia, Valdés led the mission to recover his remains and bring him home to Cuba, once writing that if he had accompanied Che, the world would have been searching for both of them — a testament to a brotherhood that outlasted death.

After the 1959 revolutionary triumph, Valdés took on the monumental task of building Cuba’s State Security apparatus from scratch, starting with just three staff members in a single office in Ciudad Libertad. Operating under his motto that the work of defending the revolution must be done in silence, he served as Minister of the Interior, countering CIA conspiracies, foiling assassination plots against Fidel, quelling counterrevolutionary banditry in the Escambray Mountains, and blocking every form of imperial aggression. Later, as Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, he oversaw strategic core sectors including telecommunications, energy, construction and mining. A self-taught leader without an engineering degree, he studied relentlessly to master his portfolio, proving revolutionary commitment could overcome any obstacle.

Beyond his official roles, Valdés embodied the quiet discipline and humility that defined Cuba’s founding revolutionary generation. He maintained a rigorous daily fitness routine well into his 90s, believing that revolutionaries must stay physically and mentally prepared to serve the nation at all times. He rejected public attention and personal glory, seeing only the fulfillment of duty to the Cuban people as his life’s purpose. This modesty and lack of vanity earned him deep affection and respect across the island. Just months before his death, when he did not appear at public events including the inauguration of new solar energy parks, ordinary Cubans across the country began asking: Where is Ramiro?

Throughout his life, Valdés’ unwavering loyalty was anchored to the ideals of Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro, a loyalty born of decades of shared struggle and common vision for Cuban sovereignty and social justice. He was a steadfast supporter of generational transition under Raúl’s leadership, and mentored a new generation of revolutionary leaders including Díaz-Canel himself. Though his reserved demeanor often masked his warmth, those who knew him recalled a man of deep tenderness: a devoted husband to his wife Alicia, his partner of more than five decades, and a loving father who passed on the values of honesty and revolutionary commitment to his children and grandchildren. As Valdés himself often said, “History shows, at least Cuban history, that to be a revolutionary you have to be romantic, idealistic and in love, first and foremost with the Revolution, that’s how it is, there is no other way.”

Closing his eulogy, Díaz-Canel rejected the traditional call for peaceful rest, echoing words written for Che Guevara’s 1997 interment at the same site. The mausoleum that holds Valdés’ remains will always be more than a resting place, Díaz-Canel said: it is a trench, a battlefield, a camp for the ongoing fight for the Cuban people. It is a fitting legacy for a fighter who never stopped serving his nation until his final days. To Ramiro Valdés, Díaz-Canel said, the Cuban people owe eternal gratitude for his dedication, his commitment, and his unwavering example. Always onward to victory.

In a formal statement delivered at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun has issued a clear rebuke of unlawful unilateral sanctions, reinforcing Beijing’s long-standing position that such coercive measures lack any grounding in international legal frameworks.

Guo’s comments came in direct response to new restrictive measures unveiled by the U.S. State Department on June 23, which targeted five Cuban entities and one individual over unsubstantiated claims that they generate illicit revenue for the Cuban government.

Against this backdrop, the spokesman urged Washington to take immediate action to terminate its decades-long economic blockade of Cuba, as well as halt all other forms of coercive pressure targeting the island nation. He emphasized that the long-running U.S. embargo has systematically undermined the fundamental rights of the Cuban people to access basic resources, sustain livelihoods, and pursue long-term development, calling on U.S. authorities to end these violations immediately.

Beyond addressing the latest sanctions, Guo reaffirmed China’s unwavering support for Cuba’s sovereign right to chart its own developmental path. Specifically, Beijing backs Cuba’s efforts to pursue a socialist development model tailored to its unique national circumstances, and stands firmly with the island in defending its territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and domestic security. The spokesman also reiterated China’s consistent opposition to any form of external interference in Cuba’s internal affairs.

This latest statement from Beijing aligns with China’s long-held public stance on the U.S. embargo. For decades, China has repeatedly condemned Washington’s more than 60-year economic blockade of Cuba— which has been accompanied by growing coercive measures and heightened military threats in recent years—across multiple international forums and in official government communications.

HAVANA, June 24 – A top leader of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party has publicly condemned long-standing United States policy toward his country, saying Washington’s end goal is to achieve complete political and economic domination over the Caribbean island. Roberto Morales Ojeda, who serves as a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party Central Committee and the body’s Organization Secretary, made the accusation in a post published to his official Facebook profile, echoing longstanding Cuban pushback against decades of U.S. pressure.

Havana, June 24, 2026 – Cuba’s highest governing bodies have advanced a landmark set of economic and social adjustments that will soon be made public in full, wrapping up a years-long process of refining the island nation’s development framework.

The Council of Ministers is scheduled to hold a formal analysis of the proposed transformations this week, building on a multi-stage review process that already incorporated input from two key national bodies: the Political Bureau of Cuba’s Communist Party, and participants in the Extraordinary Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee. The reforms also received debate and endorsement during the 3rd Extraordinary Session of the 10th Legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power, ensuring broad institutional input before finalization.

These adjustments are framed as a deliberate, sovereign policy choice for Cuba, emerging from a decades-long initiative to update and optimize the Cuban Economic Model. That process was first launched in 2011, with major deepening of reform efforts kicking off in 2021 as the country addressed shifting global and domestic economic conditions. Once the Council of Ministers concludes its final analysis, the full text of all approved economic and social transformations will be released publicly to bring transparency to the country’s latest policy evolution.

On a Tuesday morning in June 2026, one of the last surviving core figures of Cuba’s revolutionary movement, Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, received his first formal tribute from the country’s top political and military leadership at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Leading the honor guard for the lifelong revolutionary was Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution and Valdés Menéndez’s comrade-in-arms spanning decades of struggle from the Moncada Barracks attack to the Granma expedition, the guerrilla campaign in the Sierra Maestra, and the decades of nation-building following the 1959 revolutionary triumph.

Joining Raúl in the tribute were Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba; Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces; and Army Corps General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Minister of the Interior, both of whom are members of the party’s Political Bureau.

Before the honor guard began, the urn holding Valdés Menéndez’s ashes was placed at the center of the ceremony hall. A revolutionary renowned for unwavering loyalty to Fidel and Raúl Castro, and a man who often described himself as deeply devoted to the Cuban Revolution, Valdés Menéndez left behind a legacy of service recognized across the country. Flanking the urn were the two stars marking his status as Hero of the Republic of Cuba and Hero of Labor, alongside the dozens of distinctions and decorations he earned over a lifetime of exceptional service to the nation. Resting near the urn, folded into the traditional triangular shape, was the Cuban flag that Valdés Menéndez personally carried back from Bolivia alongside Che Guevara’s remains — a treasure he never parted with for the rest of his life.

A second mourning flag, draped with a black ribbon, stood alongside five floral arrangements offered on behalf of Army General Raúl Castro, President Díaz-Canel, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban people, and Valdés Menéndez’s family. These offerings honored a revolutionary who famously avoided the spotlight, once saying that all the achievements of the revolution were collective work done naturally when duty called, not the triumph of any single individual.

After the formal honor guard concluded, Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel placed white roses at the urn to cap the tribute, followed by the two military ministers. The pair then offered heartfelt condolences to Valdés Menéndez’s family, including his lifelong partner Alicia, his children, and all attendees gathered to honor the humble guerrilla fighter who gave every part of his life to building the new Cuba born in 1959.

Speaking of the comrade he has long considered a brother, who stood beside him in defense of shared revolutionary ideals and principles, Raúl recalled the words he shared when Valdés Menéndez was awarded the Honorary Title of Hero of Labor: he noted that Valdés held a unique distinction among the revolutionary cohort, serving as second-in-command of the column that Che Guevara led into Las Villas during the final offensive against the Batista regime.

In keeping with Valdés Menéndez’s own final wishes, he will be laid to rest this Thursday alongside his former commander Che Guevara at the Mausoleum of the Las Villas Front, located within the Ernesto Che Guevara Sculpture Complex in the city of Santa Clara.

Though Valdés Menéndez preferred to avoid public attention, his legacy demands recognition as Cuba honors his life. A figure who never sought the limelight, he was and will remain a central protagonist of the extraordinary collective project that is the Cuban Revolution. As Valdés Menéndez himself affirmed, the revolution “was not born to die, but to continue through time” — a legacy he helped build and safeguard for generations of Cubans.