International
Cuba rejects possible foreign military intervention in Haiti
October 7 |
The Government of Cuba rejected Thursday the military intervention approved by the United Nations against Haiti, while saying that the Caribbean country what it needs is “more and better assistance and international cooperation”.
A statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry published Thursday recalls that Haiti “suffers a serious humanitarian and security situation, which exacerbates social instability and poverty caused by centuries of colonial and neocolonial plunder, underdevelopment and foreign intervention.”
Cuba’s statement comes after the United Nations Security Council last week approved a resolution authorizing the deployment of what it called a Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, “whose troops may use force in its area of action”, according to the UN.
According to the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry, “this is not the first time that the Council mandates a military deployment in that country”, although it recognizes that “on this occasion, it responds to a request from the Haitian authorities”.
However, it emphasizes that “Cuba is in favor of peace and stability in Haiti, the first Latin American and Caribbean country to rise up against European colonialism, to achieve its independence and to abolish slavery in the Western Hemisphere”.
In that sense, the Cuban Foreign Ministry defends “the legitimate rights of its people to find a peaceful and sustainable solution to the enormous challenges it faces, based on full respect for its sovereignty.”
“The main pending task of the international community with Haiti is not to send a military contingent.”
The Cuban statement expresses that “the international community has an enormous moral debt” with Haiti, a country that, according to Havana “needs more financial resources for its development. It urgently requires more and better international assistance and cooperation, not only for its reconstruction, but also to advance in the sustainable development of the country”.
Cuba regrets that “many of the amounts of financial and material aid committed by the international community for Haiti […] were absorbed for their own expenses by innumerable foreign non-governmental organizations and program execution agencies” and that “on many occasions, the will of the Haitian authorities and the priorities they established were not respected”.
Cuba “reiterates the call to address the situation in Haiti with due attention to the structural, economic and social problems of the country” and supports “the call of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for a long-term development strategy” in the Caribbean nation.
The Cuban statement also recalls that Havana “has cooperated with Haiti and concentrated its efforts in areas where they can have the greatest impact, such as public health, a key element of Haiti’s sustainability and social stability” and “has maintained, since 1988, a brigade of health professionals and technicians in Haiti, to unconditionally support its people, even during the impact of meteorological and seismic events, the cholera outbreak and the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Finally, he pointed out that “Cuba maintains its commitment of solidarity with Haiti and will continue to offer its unconditional help. The noble Haitian people need and deserve more resources and cooperation from the international community”.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
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