UN General Assembly
2016

The people-centred and progressive leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean, who dared to dream of alternatives to an iniquitous status quo, are once again being punished for their impertinence — from the continued embargo against the noble Cuban people and the externally stoked unrest in Venezuela, to the parliamentary coup d’état in Brazil. We are entering a new but depressingly familiar chapter in a book that is already soaked with the blood of progressive heroes. However, the schemes of yesteryear, with their dirty tricks and divisions, will fail when faced with the new solidarity that has taken root across our region. Our States, as part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas as well as the signatories to the Petrocaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement, understand the unshakeable strength that comes from unity and the courage of our collective convictions.