Cuba Roundup: Foreign visitors, U.S. blockade, French vessel explosion

2 million foreign visitors in 2023

Despite US sanctions and financial persecutions, Cuba attracted over 2,000,000 visitors in 2023. The Cuban Ministry of Tourism, led by President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, emphasised sustainable development, environmental protection, and the implementation of a circular economy, local media Granma reports. They urged Cuba to use animation, science, and innovation to showcase its unique culture and uniqueness. According to Granma, Cuban Minister of Tourism Juan Carlos García Granda plans to reverse deficiencies in 2024 and offer quality products and services to overcome the three million visitor barrier.

Open letter to lift U.S. blockade against Cuba

Over 140 organizations and individuals in Maryland have signed an open letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, urging them to end the economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba.  According to Cuba Si, the letter was addressed to U.S. Democratic Senator for Maryland, Ben Cardin. The blockade, which has been in place for over 60 years, has caused massive suffering for the Cuban people and has cost the Cuban Government 159 billion dollars, Cuba Si reported. Over three decades, the United Nations General Assembly has consistently called for the end of the blockade every year except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba Si reported.

Remembrance of French vessel explosion

Cubans remembered on March 4 the terrorist act that resulted in the explosion of the French ship La Coubre 64 years ago in Havana, which killed 100 people and injured hundreds more. The first explosion happened while port workers were unloading merchandise and the second happened when the victims of the first explosion were being assisted. Former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro presented evidence of the US Government's complicity in the crime on March 5, the day following the events. He used for the first time the catchphrase "Homeland or Death," which has since guided the Cuban revolutionary movement, local news agency La Prensa Latina reported.

Cubans march in solidarity with Palestinians

Residents of Holguín, a city in eastern Cuba held a massive march in solidarity with the Palestinian cause on March 2 amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. The march which included people of all ages was led by Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first secretary in the province; Manuel Francisco Hernández Aguilera, governor of Holguín, members of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, among other political, mass and government authorities, local media Ahora reported.

Decreasing population

Cuba's population continues to age and decrease, with 90,300 births registered in 2023, the lowest in the last six decades, the Cuban News Agency reported. Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz urged a change of mentality and a change of mindset to address the demographic situation. He called for solutions based on local resources and monitoring progress and deficiencies. "We are talking about government projections to correct distortions, and here there are many distortions, and to re-drive the economy in this matter is to comply with everything we have proposed because all this directly impacts the population", he is quoted by the Cuban News Agency.