Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
Antigua and Barbuda PM congratulates Cuba on 64th anniversary of revolution
Prime Minister Gaston Browne congratulated the Cuban people on the 64th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution on New Year’s Day.
In a letter to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Browne said the revolution was a unique and potent symbol of hope and liberation.
“President Castro’s revolutionary ideals had a significant and empowering psychological impact on oppressed peoples everywhere, including in the rest of the Caribbean, where people identified with the Cuban struggle for freedom,” he said.
“Passionate and heroic in his resolve to stand up for Cuban freedom and sovereignty, former President Fidel Castro faced the might of the United States and defied all odds.
“His remarkable and revolutionary leadership altered the course of events and will forever have an impact on world history.”
The Cuban Revolution overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista on January 1 1959. The revolution’s leader, Fidel Castro, went on to rule Cuba from 1959 to 2008.
Prime Minister Browne also expressed gratitude on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda for Cuba’s support in improving the country’s healthcare and education sectors over the years.
“Many nationals of Antigua and Barbuda have benefitted from the successes of the Cuban Revolution,” he noted.
Writing to his counterpart in the Cuban government, Foreign Affairs Minister Chet Greene said the historical significance of the revolution lies in its poignant symbolism as a beacon of freedom from oppression as well as its traditions and lasting legacies.
Greene stated that despite the decades-long economic and financial embargo imposed against the country by the United States, Cuba has been able to record huge strides in education, medicine, sports, and other areas of human development.
Greene also mentioned the work of the Cuban Medical Brigades which has helped develop Antigua and Barbuda’s healthcare system and boosted the country’s response to the Covid pandemic.
