Cuban President Demands US to Lift Embargo 'If It Cares'

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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called on revolutionary Cubans to take to the streets in opposition to foreign-supported attempts to destabilize Cuba. He pointed out that the streets of Cuba belong to the revolutionaries and asked everyone to defend their nation.

In a speech broadcast on Cuban national television, he highlighted the difficulties his country has been facing since 2019, stating that the measures the United States has adopted against Havana reflect a savage policy. The President said that the US is now taking advantage of the difficult COVID-induced situation to encourage media campaigns against the Cuban government and destabilize the country.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel stressed that the US administration has intensified restrictive measures against Cuba, tightening the embargo and escalating the financial persecution of the energy sector. It has also tightened its grip on the Cuban economy to create mass social resentment, leading them into calling for 'humanitarian' intervention - that would end in military interventions - tampering with human rights, sovereignty, and independence.

Diaz-Canel also condemned foreign media-backed attempts to distort the country's image and disunite the state, the party, and the people by taking advantage of the difficult economic situation because of the US embargo. Diaz calls on the critics denouncing the Cuban government to demand the lift of the embargo on Havana. 

The Cuban President also condemned US criticism of his government and their claim to be in the interest of Cuban citizens, adding: "If you really care for the welfare of the Cuban people, lift the embargo, and you'll see how we will do." He wondered, "Why don't you? Why do you not have the courage to lift the embargo?"

The Cuban President added, "We have been honest, transparent, and clear, and at each moment we have been clarifying to our people the difficulty of these complicated times." 

A number of Cuban citizens had taken to the streets of San Antonio de los Baños, calling for the amelioration of the country's economic conditions amid the Coronavirus outbreak. The Cuban President toured Artemisa Province, West of Havana, talking to citizens, as he called on them to remain calm and not cause further provocation.

Cuba has been under a US embargo for close to 60 years, which prevented humanitarian aid from reaching it during the pandemic. The embargo caused the economic situation to worsen in the recent period.

The Cuban government had condemned foreign-funded attempts to sow chaos and civil unrest by misusing the trying situation on the Caribbean island caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and the tightening of the US embargo.