The Revolutionary Government of Cuba has denounced the pressure and actions of the government of the United States in preparation for a military venture disguised as “humanitarian intervention” in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It called upon the international community to mobilize in order to prevent the U.S. plan from being implemented.
The Declaration of the Revolutionary Government, emitted on February 13, 2019, notes that from February 6 to February 10, military transport planes, originating from U.S. military installations utilized by the Special Operations Forces and the U.S. Marines for covert operations, have been flying toward military bases in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other islands of the Caribbean.
The Declaration observes that the mass media, including those of the United States, have revealed that extremist elements in the U.S. government have designed and have directly organized and managed the attempted coup d’état in Venezuela, which has included an illegal self-proclamation of a president. It further observes that the Venezuelan people are resisting, as is made evident by the loyalty of the armed forces and the massive demonstrations in support of President Maduro. The United States, however, is intensifying its international political and media campaign and is hardening economic measures. The unilateral coercive economic measures include the blocking of millions of dollars belonging to Venezuela in banks in third countries and the robbery of income from the sale of petroleum. Said measures are provoking harsh deprivations and serious humanitarian damage, which the United States is using as a humanitarian pretext to initiate a military aggression against Venezuela. The humanitarian aid that it intends to introduce in Venezuelan territory is a thousand times less than the economic damage caused by the coercive measures unilaterally imposed from Washington, the Declaration asserts. The cynical and hypocritical intention is to establish an “international corridor” under “international protection” as a base on Venezuelan territory for its military operations, justified with a pretext of “protecting civilians.”
The Declaration recalls that similar conduct and pretexts were adopted by the United States as a prelude to the wars that it undertook in Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Libya, resulting in an immense loss of human life and enormous suffering. And it maintains that the sad and painful history of U.S. military interventions cannot be forgotten, including more than once in Mexico, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and Honduras; and most recently, in Grenada and Panama.
The Declaration maintains that the U.S. government undertakes these actions because the Chavist and Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela constitutes the greatest threat to the exercise of its imperialist domination over Latin America and the Caribbean and to its intention of dispossessing the Venezuelan people of the largest petroleum reserve on earth as well as other strategic natural resources.
The Declaration supports the Montevideo Mechanism; initiated by Mexico, Uruguay, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and Bolivia; which seeks to preserve peace in Venezuela on the basis of the principles of non-intervention in the affairs of states and of the peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Declaration applauds the fact that the government of Nicolas Maduro and the international community have welcomed the initiative, and it expresses concern with the categorical rejection by the government of the United States of this as well as other initiatives of dialogue proposed by various countries.
The Declaration reiterates the firm and unwavering solidarity of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba with the Constitutional President Nicolás Maduro and with the Chavist and Bolivarian Revolution. It declares that Venezuela is determined to defend the sovereignty and dignity of Latin America and the Caribbean and the peoples of the South. It warns that history will judge severely a new imperialist military intervention in the region.
For the full text of the Declaration, in English and Spanish, see: “Declaration of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba on Venezuela,” April 13, 2019.