Groups of friendship and solidarity with Cuba deployed activities in Havana in support of the revolutionary process and in rejection of the coercive policies of the United States against the Caribbean island, as part of a programme that continues today.

The International Brigade of Solidarity with Cuba «Cruz del Sur» began the 40th edition of these visits to Cuban territory, said the website Con Cuba Siempre.

According to the publication, «Cruz del Sur» received precise information on the foreign policy of US administrations and their relationship with the Antillean island through a specialised conference by researcher Hassan Pérez, from the University of Havana.

Earlier, in the capital’s Casa de la Amistad, the thirteen members of the group from Australia and New Zealand were received by the board of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).

The programme, which runs until 23 January, includes exchanges in communities, workplaces and socio-cultural projects in the provinces of Havana, Matanzas and Pinar del Río, according to the organisers.

The president of ICAP, Fernando González, stressed the importance of their presence at a time of great complexity for Cuba, which is resisting the obstacles to the economy and daily life caused by the cruel US policy since 1959.

He explained that this siege is intensifying much more, subjecting Cubans to great hardship through the blockade and the inclusion of the island on the infamous list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

«The policy against Cuba will be more cruel with the new president (elect) of the United States (Donald Trump), but I can assure you that after his mandate the Cuban Revolution will continue here, firm, with resistance and creativity, with the support of the people and unity with the government and the Party,» González asserted.

The ICAP head thanked the friends from Australia and New Zealand who «at the other end of the world carry Cuba in their hearts and make extraordinary efforts in resources, energy and time to organise such a long and costly trip to bring solidarity».

Vinnie Molina, president of the Communist Party of Australia – one of the 13 members of the Brigade – considered it a duty to support the Cuban people, who have decided to defend their social project despite imperial harassment, he said.

It was also learned that the Central American Brigade of Solidarity with Cuba received lectures on relations with the United States, and an update on the state of the economy on the island, by experts from the Foreign Ministry and the Centre for the Study of the World Economy.

Likewise, a donation of financial resources for the purchase of medical supplies and the repair of an institution was made by Oscar Barrante, of the Costa Rican Movement of Friendship with Cuba, and Elena Flores, of the Honduras-Cuba Friendship Association, the source informed.