Amid a crushing (and illegal) U.S. blockade, dozens of public figures, including Hasan Piker, Greta Thunberg, Jeremy Corbyn, and Kneecap are traveling to Cuba to deliver aid to the island.
Traveling by land, sea, and air, this internationalist brigade, known as the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba, is converging on Havana on Saturday in order to defy the Trump administration's regime change attempts, and show solidarity with the Cuban people.
"Right now, the United States is tightening its siege on Cuba," said political streamer Hasan Piker, explaining his decision to join the convoy, adding: "Fuel shipments are blocked. Flights grounded, critical supplies cut off. Donald Trump has even threatened a 'friendly takeover' of the island. For Washington, the message is simple: submit - or suffer."
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is also traveling to Havana, in order to stand up for what she calls "the right of the Cuban people to build their own society, free from siege and economic sabotage." "The Trump administration is waging illegitimate wars across the world, killing countless people, deliberately, openly and methodically. The pedophile Trump himself bragged about it, saying there's an embargo, there's no oil, there's no money. There is no anything," she added.
The Swedish organizer, who was once a media darling but has fallen from favor due to her support for Palestinian liberation, also referenced Cuba's long history of solidarity with the Global South and with oppressed peoples across the planet. "Cuba did not stay silent when the world needed it," she said, noting how the country sends its doctors far and wide to help with pandemics and natural disasters.
She also explained how Cuba stood up to Apartheid South Africa, even when rich countries tacitly supported the racist project. Cuba sent troops to Africa to fight the white nationalist armies, dealing them a crushing military and ideological blow from which they never recovered. "When liberation movements were fighting for independence from colonial rule across Africa... Cuba stood in solidarity. Not just in words, but in actions, with real material support. Cuba stood up for the world, and now, it is time for the world to stand up for Cuba," she said.
Sensing an opportunity, the Trump administration is attempting to crush the Cuban Revolution once and for all. On January 29, President Trump declared the island an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security, and declared that any nation selling it oil would receive giant tariffs.
The result has been an energy blackout in the Caribbean nation. With no oil, both public and private transport has ground to a halt. With little electricity, businesses have shuttered and public services have been suspended. Even Cuba's famous healthcare system is sputtering, starved of the medicines, products, and machines it needs to function.
"I think something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly," Trump predicted. Luis De Jesus Reyes, a Havana-based journalist, was not so sure, however, telling MintPress that, although there are sporadic protests across the country, they are not counter-revolutionary in nature, and are more of an expression of popular frustration. The Cuban people, he said, are well-educated, and know exactly why they are suffering. But, he said, for Cubans, surrendering is simply not an option.
"The US is suffocating the Cuban people with its criminal and inhumane blockade," former U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is also joining the convoy, said. "We cannot sit idly by. That's why we are mobilizing to Cuba, bringing critical humanitarian aid for its people." The humanitarian aid in question consists of tens of tons of urgently-needed drugs, medical supplies, generators, and other essential items.
Other prominent figures traveling to Cuba with the Nuestra America Convoy include Irish hip-hop band, Kneecap, union organizer Chris Smalls, Spanish political leader, Pablo Iglesias, and journalists such as Katie Halper, Owen Jones, and Nathan Robinson.
Washington's obsession with destroying Cuba began immediately after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which saw Fidel Castro and Che Guevara overthrowing the U.S.-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista.
Since then, despite extraordinary hardships, and a 66-year U.S. blockade that the State Department itself described as an attempt to bring about "hunger, desperation and overthrow of government," Cuba has achieved remarkable successes, including full literacy, a world-class healthcare system, sustainable agriculture, and perhaps the highest standard of living in a poor country anywhere in the world.
Part of the country's Communist ideology is to help others. Cuban doctors have Ebola in West Africa, battled the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and Latin America, and restored the sight of some two million people in 35 countries for free. They have also trained tens of thousands of foreign doctors for free, on the proviso that they return to their home countries and care for underprivileged communities. This includes dozens of Americans, many of whom spoke to MintPress News for a 2020 article on the country's famous medical system.
For many around the world, despite the hardships it endures, Cuba stands as a ray of light, an example of what a better world could look like. For the U.S. government, the island is a threat for the same reason; a dangerous idea that must be stamped out. While it is unclear if Trump will get his wish, or merely be able to make the Cuban people suffer unnecessarily, what is evident is that Cuba is not alone in its struggle.