Cuba’s ambassador to New Zealand, Luis Morejón Rodríguez, will address a public meeting in Auckland on March 27.

The meeting will oppose Washington’s escalating military threats and economic pressure on Cuba.

Speaking alongside Ambassador Morejón will be Josephine Varghese, a lecturer at the University of Canterbury. Varghese will bring an eyewitness account of her recent trip to Cuba.

A military assault on Cuba has been openly discussed by US president Trump and other officials after the Jan. 2 strike against Venezuela and during the current bombing of Iran.

On January 29 the White House issued an executive order blocking oil exports to Cuba, which imports around 60 percent of its fuel.

This oil blockade, enforced by the US naval armada in the Caribbean, piles pressure on top of Washington’s economic embargo that has been in place since the early 1960s. These measures deny working people access to the most basic necessities, from medicines to electricity and transportation.

The Cuba Friendship Society, which is sponsoring the meeting, noted that the only crime of Cuba and its people was that of overthrowing a U.S.-backed dictator in 1959, and defending their sovereignty and other conquests of their revolution in the six decades since.

The Auckland public meeting will be held at 7pm, Friday March 27th at Trades Hall, 147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn.

The ambassador will also speak at public meetings in Christchurch and Wellington.

In response to Washington’s offensive, the Cuba Friendship Society is also appealing for donations to the international Nuestra America Convoy, which will deliver much-needed aid to Cuba on March 21.

The society is also encouraging people to sign the petition on Action Station supporting “Peace and Sovereignty”.

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