By Yimel Diaz Malmierca on March 3, 2026
LA meeting for Cuba
Solidarity with Cuba was once again expressed in the city of Los Angeles during a meeting convened by the Hands Off Cuba Committee, a coordinating body based on the US West Coast that denounces the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by Washington against the island. Under the slogan “Cuba Yes, Blockade No!”, around a hundred activists, trade unionists, academics, and representatives of social organizations reiterated their support for the Cuban people.
The meeting was co-chaired by Destiny Rivera, leader of the Hands Off Cuba Committee in Los Angeles, and Mwezi Odom, national secretary of the African People’s Socialist Party. From the outset, attendees chanted slogans against the economic blockade and in defense of Cuban sovereignty.
Kevin Kucera, district president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
One of the highlights was a video message from Kevin Kucera, district president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who framed the debate in terms of class struggle and labor rights: “We must and will continue to defend Cuba’s sovereignty and its right to self-determination,” he said.
For the union leader, the attack on the island “is an attack on the rights of workers around the world,” while calling for continued mobilization in the streets and in digital spaces.
Kucera insisted that the labor movement cannot remain indifferent to measures that directly affect a people and set precedents for the imposition of unilateral sanctions against any nation that defends a sovereign project. In this regard, he stressed that his union and sectors of the AFL-CIO have expressed solidarity with the Cuban people, upholding the principle of self-determination in the face of economic pressure.
The union dimension of the meeting was echoed by other messages of support. Jazz pianist Arturo O’Farrill expressed his support for Cuban sovereignty and recalled that, year after year, the United Nations General Assembly approves, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution calling for an end to the blockade.
Representing CodePink was its co-founder, Jody Evans, who linked the Cuban cause with other struggles against U.S. interference and called for participation in new initiatives to send humanitarian aid.
From Washington, David Ramírez, an official at the Cuban Embassy in the United States, expressed his gratitude for the support and denounced the intensification of economic and political pressure.
During the exchange, the difficulties associated with fuel supply and its impact on essential services such as water pumping, agricultural production, and transportation were addressed. Reference was also made to the denial of visas to Cuban athletes for events held on U.S. territory, including the World Baseball Classic, as well as pressure campaigns against Cuban medical cooperation in third countries and against the Latin American School of Medicine.
Representatives of the National Lawyers Guild and the Venceremos Brigade also spoke, promoting delegations to travel to Cuba, campaigns to collect medical supplies, and shipments coordinated by members of the National Network on Cuba.
The meeting in Los Angeles confirmed the persistence of a solidarity movement that finds explicit support in trade union sectors.
For the newspaper Trabajadores, Kevin Kucera’s statement is particularly significant, because when a U.S. labor leader argues that the defense of Cuba is inseparable from the defense of labor rights on a global scale, it reaffirms that the cause against the blockade transcends borders and connects with the historical agenda of the labor movement.
Source: Trabajadores, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English