When Cuba Called Who answered?
On the need to show Cuba the solidarity it's given the world
The Title of this piece is a reference to the saying, “when Africa called, Cuba answered”. Alluding to the tiny island nations’ outsized contribution to decolonization and the end of apartheid in Africa. One of the best examples of internationalism the globe has ever seen. Cuba dedicated “more than 400,000 Cuban soldiers, teachers, doctors, engineers, and workers served in Angola in various capacities during the mission”. Cuba’s liberatory work in Africa gained them the praises of Nelson Mandela, as Operación Carlota was instrumental in ending the U.S.-supported South Africa regime. A counterpunch article pointed out that “Cuban representative Abelardo Moreno declared: “Humanity has a debt to African people. We cannot let them down.” Even the Wall Street Journal declared, “Few have heeded the call, but one country has responded in strength: Cuba.” “ Unlike the colonial powers of the capitalist core, Cuba gave to Africa, taking on a debt that was really the imperialist powers to pay. When Africa called, Cuba answered, but who will answer Cuba’s call today?
The socialist nation of Cuba continues to be strangled by embargoes, the world’s harshest and longest, and Trump is now subjecting the island to a modern siege in an attempt to starve it out. In Oct 2025, the yearly ritual in the United Nations affirmed what all those paying attention know is true by again voting against the United States criminal and inhumane embargo on Cuba imposed in 1960. The only members to vote against the resolution were the United States and Israel. This is not the first time the UN has made such a resolution either. Cuba, as a small island, needs trade to thrive, with its larger neighbor, and economic giant, the United States, being an ideal natural trading partner. The embargo hurts Cuba significantly in this aspect alone.
The 180 day rule “prohibiting any vessel that enters a port or place in Cuba to engage in the trade of goods or the purchase or provision of services there from entering any U.S. port for the purpose of loading or unloading freight for 180 days after leaving Cuba,” also makes it difficult for other nations and ships to trade with Cuba as it must be planned around their next trip to the United States a much larger and more valuable economy. Cuba has lost around 130 billion dollars over the years due to the embargo. it is difficult to know the yearly cost of the embrago today. According to ASEAN states at the UN, “From 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023, the blockade cost Cuba an estimated $4.87 billion” in losses. It is worth mentioning that embargos should not stifle access to essential goods for the general public, but the Cuban embargo raises the price of medical supplies and food. It also creates shortages of medicine and medical devices, and prohibits food sales. A quote from a study by The American Association for World Health from 1997 is damning, as the embargo has only hardened.
further tightened by the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act (which i would like to add was bipartisan from a house and senate of majority democrats, right after the collaspe of the countries main ecomonic partner). A humanitarian catastrophe has been averted only because the Cuban government has maintained a high level of budgetary support for a health care system designed to deliver primary and preventive health care to all of its citizens. Cuba still has an infant mortality rate half that of the city of Washington, D.C.. Even so, the U.S. embargo of food and the de facto embargo on medical supplies has wreaked havoc…
Despite narratives of an evil government keeping its people impoverished, another study points out “universal access to primary health services, a highly educated population, and preferential access to scarce goods for women and children help protect most Cubans from what otherwise might have been a health disaster.” In other words, despite the popular narrative that the Cuban system is destroying the island and they can simply trade with other nations, the socialist system may be what’s allowed it to hold together, along with the resistance of the Cuban people. The idea that they can trade freely is also false due to the 180-day rule, restricted access to dollars for foreign exchange, and their isolation from the global financial system, which the U.S largely controls. In fact, even in 2024, Cuba has a lower death by malnutrition rate than America.
During the pandemic, sanctions forced the island to develop its own vaccine, which it was able to do due to its impressive medical system/pharmaceutical industry. Looking at the death rate, the Cuban response was like that of other socialist countries compared to capitalism, effective. A CNBC article from the time tell us “Cuba has vaccinated a greater percentage of its population against Covid-19 than almost all of the world’s largest and richest nations,” with it being the only country in Latin America to produce its own vaccine. Cuba also financially supported families during lockdown in ways that capitalist governments were generally unwilling to (Escobedo et al., 2021). The aforementioned CNBC article also emphasizes that Cuban medicine is effective . The Vaccines were cheaper, thankfully, than others available at the time, offering hope to a suffering global south in a dire time. Cuba’s steadfast solidarity with the rest of the world when it comes to facing a global health crisis goes far beyond COVID, but to maintain our focus, while having a great COVID response itself, Cuba sent health professionals to 39 countries, reminding us of a truth capitalist countries fail to acknowledge, many of the worst international crises can only be faced together (Escobedo et al., 2021).
Cuba needs our help with the current crisis. Let us give what we can and expect nothing in return, for that is what Cuba has done for the wretched of the earth consistently. We must show the world that their international solidarity means something, lest the revolutionary gains and spirit of internationalism be lost to a nihilism that suspects it will never be reciprocated. The resilient Cuban people and their revolutionary project will not falter; let us ensure that they are not left alone. Let us anwser there call. venceremos! We will win!
Get Involved:
Let Cuba live: sign or donate to solar
World Central Kitchen petition
DSA Stop The Siege on Cuba national launch: Feb 22 8:00 PM EST Virtual
Action Conference for US-Cuba Normalization at the CUNY Graduate Center: 14-15th march livestreamed
Nuestra América Flotilla to Cuba in March, 2026