Petro criticises US pressure on Cuba, praises island’s vaccine breakthrough
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has criticised renewed US pressure on Cuba, saying the island should be recognised for its scientific and cultural contributions rather than threatened.
Speaking at an event at the Faculty of Arts of the National University, Petro praised Cuba’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, its development of a locally produced vaccine.
He said Cuba was the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean able to produce its own vaccine at the height of the pandemic, adding that the achievement helped save lives, starting with Cubans themselves.
“If a society, in the middle of a global crisis, was able to rapidly produce an effective vaccine, then that society should not be invaded or bombed. It should be applauded and helped,” Petro said.
His remarks came amid renewed tensions between Washington and Havana. On May 1, US President Donald Trump expanded sanctions on Cuba and suggested that the United States could deploy an aircraft carrier near the island.
Cuban officials condemned the move. President Miguel Díaz-Canel described Washington’s position as a “dangerous escalation,” while Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused the US of acting with cynicism and hypocrisy.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
