‘Say no to colonisers’: Jamaicans protest in support of Cuban Gov’t
KINGSTON, Jamaica – More than 150 people marched around National Heroes Circle in Kingston on Tuesday to express their solidarity with the Cuban government amid intense pressure on the communist regime by the United States.
The protest was held amid threats by US President Donald Trump that he will “take” over the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island and against the background of Jamaica ending a 50-year-old medical programme with the Cuban government, a decision critics believe was influenced by pressure from Washington.
“We need nurses, we need Cuba!” protestors shouted in unison in reference to the fallout in the health sector with hundreds of Cuban medical practitioners being withdrawn from Jamaica following the discontinuation of the programme.
One protestor told Observer Online, “We have to say no to the colonisers…. All Cuba hhas done is move humbly and has been generous to share their doctors with the world… that is magical.”
After nearly seven decades defying the United States, Havana’s communist authorities are under massive pressure from a Trump administration determined to make history.
“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“I do believe I’ll be…having the honor of taking Cuba,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Cuba scrambled Tuesday to restore power after a nationwide blackout that hit the communist-run island.
Since the US ouster of Cuba’s top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3, the island’s economy has been hammered further as Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade.
No oil has been imported to the island since January 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector.
Among the protestors in Kingston on Tuesday were former People’s National Party general secretary, Paul Burke; University of the West Indies lecturer Louis Moyston; and attorney Stacey Knight.
Additional reporting by AFP
Video by Llewellyn Wynter
