Amid US tensions, Mexico, Spain, Brazil urge respectful dialogue with Cuba
(FILES) An activist waves a Cuban flag on board the vessel Maguro — symbolically renamed “Granma 2.0” as a tribute to the yacht used by Fidel Castro’s guerrilla fighters to launch their revolution in 1956 — as it arrives from Mexico with humanitarian aid as part of the Nuestra America convoy, docking at the port of Havana on March 24, 2026. Two sailboats that disappeared while taking humanitarian aid from Mexico to Cuba have been located by the Mexican Navy and its crew is safe, organizers and Mexican authorities said on March 28, 2026. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP)
April 19, 2026
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP)—Mexico, Spain and Brazil voiced concern Saturday over the “dramatic situation” in Cuba, which has faced months of pressure from United States (US) President Donald Trump, with the trio urging “sincere and respectful dialogue.”
Without explicitly mentioning the United States, the three leftist-led countries expressed “deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian crisis that the people of Cuba are enduring, and call for the adoption of necessary measures to alleviate this situation.”
The countries, in a joint statement issued by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called for a “sincere and respectful dialogue” in line with international law.
The purpose of such a dialogue should be to “find a lasting solution to the current situation and to ensure that it is the Cuban people themselves who decide their own future in full freedom,” the statement said.
The appeal came as a summit of leftist leaders is taking place in Barcelona, led by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the biggest critics of the United States and Israel’s bombing campaigns in the Middle East.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were among the attendees, who called for efforts to “protect democracy.”
Cuba has been bracing for a possible attack following repeated warnings from Trump that Cuba is “next” after he toppled Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and went to war against Iran.
Trump has imposed an oil blockade of Cuba, aggravating the impoverished island’s worst economic and energy crisis in decades.
