The leaders of Mexico, Spain and Brazil were among leftist leaders meeting in Barcelona on Saturday [AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff and The Associated PressPublished On 18 Apr 202618 Apr 2026
The leaders of Mexico, Brazil and Spain have pledged more aid to Cuba, while appealing for the island nation’s sovereignty to be respected amid an ongoing pressure campaign from United States President Donald Trump.
The joint statement on Saturday was released as leftist leaders from across the globe met in Barcelona.
The three countries expressed “great concern about the serious humanitarian crisis that the people of Cuba are going through”.
The US has imposed a trade embargo on Cuba since Cold War tensions emerged in the 1960s.
But the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on the island’s communist government, in an apparent attempt to prompt leadership change.
Since January, Trump has barred the import of oil from Venezuela. He also threatened other countries with sanctions if they deliver oil to Cuba, leading to fuel shortages and energy blackouts.
The campaign against Cuba’s government follows similar pressure tactics against Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted and imprisoned in a US military operation on January 3.
Trump, meanwhile, has floated the removal of Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
In Saturday’s statement, the governments of Mexico, Spain and Brazil — represented by President Claudia Sheinbaum, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, respectively — warned against any actions that run “contrary to international law”.
“We are committed to coordinating an increase in our humanitarian response, aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Cuban people,” the trio said.
While the statement did not directly reference the US, it called for respect for “territorial integrity, sovereign equality and peaceful settlement of disputes”, as outlined in the United Nations Charter.
The three countries further said that any solution in Cuba must “ensure that it is the Cuban people themselves who decide their future in full freedom”.
Earlier this week, Trump again suggested the US could use military force against Cuba, saying his attention could turn to the island following the conclusion of the US-Israel war against Iran.
“We may stop by Cuba after we finish with this,” he said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly denied US policy has contributed to the humanitarian situation in Cuba, instead framing the crisis as the product of decades of economic mismanagement.
Diaz-Canel, meanwhile, was defiant as he spoke on Thursday during a gathering marking the 65th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s declaration on the socialist nature of the Cuban Revolution.
“The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression,” Diaz-Canel said.
“We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it.”
Saturday’s joint statement came as leaders gathered in Barcelona to portray a united front in support of the multilateralism Trump has long railed against.
Spain’s Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Trump, did not mention the president by name as he railed against right-wing populism.
“They know their vision of how the world should be ordered is falling apart due to the tariffs and wars,” he said. “Their embrace of climate change denial, of xenophobia, or of sexism is their greatest error.”
“They have tried again and again to make us embarrassed of our beliefs. That ends now. From now on, they can be the ones who feel ashamed.”
Trump, meanwhile, took aim at Sanchez in a post on Truth Social. The president has repeatedly criticised Spain for not allowing the US military to use its bases in the US-Israel war with Iran and for not increasing its defence spending.
“Has anybody looked at how badly the country of Spain is doing. Their financial numbers, despite contributing almost nothing to NATO and their military defense, are absolutely horrendous. Sad to watch!!!” Trump wrote.
