Tell US Empire: Hands off Cuba and Haiti!
On July 7, 2021, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated after having ruled by decree since 2020. Moïse, with the support of the US, sought to illegally change the Haitian constitution via referendum, representative of the broader ways in which the sovereignty of the Haitian people has been continuously undermined by illegitimate dictators who enable neocolonial, imperialist policies that prioritize US interests.
Haiti has remained at the center of the revolutionary world following its freedom from France in 1804, the first slave colony in the world to gain its independence. However, while technically independent, true liberation eludes Haiti’s grasp, as the country has been forced to pay the price for freeing itself from the bondages of slavery ever since. After the Haitan Revolution, France imposed a crippling debt on Haiti due to the financial loss induced by the former slave colony; this colonial debt has inhibited Haiti’s autonomy and embodies the imperialist punishment inflicted on Haiti for challenging the white supremacist, capitalist structures dependent upon the dehumanization and enslavement of Black people. Debt, however, is not the only means of imposing imperial control; food aid from the US, military coups led by CIA-trained leaders, privatization and export-based production, the burgeoning involvement of NGOs, and other manifestations of neoliberalism have all perpetuated the intentionally manufactured poverty and instability of the nation, functioning in tandem with the repression of the Haitian people and the brutal violation of their right to sovereignty and self-determination.
The assassination of Moïse hearkens back to the 1915 assassination of Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam and the subsequent occupation of Haiti by the United States in furthering their aim to maintain their economic and political domination through neoliberal policies and repressive dictators. The occupation that took place from 1915-1934 has been reproduced in a modern context, initiated by the 2004 US-backed coup that usurped Jean-Bertrand Aristide, installing Boniface Alexandre and a subsequent string of imposed leaders to take his place, including Moïse. This ongoing occupation of Haiti reflects the perpetuation of neocolonialism by the US, as they maintain their hold on the country through entities such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other extensions of imperialism that have sought to dictate the terms by which the Haitian people can exercise their autonomy. The US has historically manufactured and provoked unrest and instability as a pretext for intervention and control, thereby securing their economic interests via imperialist tactics and violently maintaining Western hegemony. Furthermore, popular Haitian resistance to this foreign domination has been violently repressed both historically and currently, as ongoing mass protests and strikes by the Haitian population have encountered brutal state-sanctioned violence.
As Cincy Socialists, we condemn the US occupation of Haiti and any foreign interference in the country and repudiate any calls for intervention, including those operating under the pretext of “bringing stability” in the wake of Moïse’s assassination. We challenge Western media’s erasure of the voices of Haitian people, as for years they have organized and protested the ongoing colonial violence to which they are subjugated. We affirm the Haitian people’s right to autonomy and resistance in their efforts to withstand the myriad manifestations and impacts of imperialism and suppression, and we remain steadfast in expressing our solidarity with the Haitian people in their anti-colonial struggle.
Haiti is not the only country in the region that has faced foreign interference and resulting economic and political strife; the ongoing embargo enforced by the United States against Cuba, exacerbated by conditions arising from COVID-19 pandemic, has recently caused unrest and counter-revolutionary protests against the Cuban revolutionary government.
The U.S. government has issued a statement on the recent reactionary protests in Cuba, claiming to stand with the Cuban people and their right to “freely determine their own future.” However, this statement entirely ignores the very reason that such unrest exists, unrest specifically manufactured by the US through sanctions with the goal of destabilizing and undermining the revolutionary Cuban government. As such, the blatant erasure of US sanctions directly contributing to these protests demonstrates the way in which the US actively engenders Cuban suffering and obstructs the Cuban people’s right to self-determination.
On June 23rd, among the 184 nations that supported the embargo’s termination, the United States denied the UN motion to lift the embargo on Cuba; Israel alone was the only other entity to deny the resolution. The embargo has been imposed since 1960, and this motion has been put forth unsuccessfully 29 times to the UN. As such, Cubans have been forced to suffer due to their inability to receive all of the supplies they need to ensure their well-being, as well as technological advancement. Despite Cuba developing a vaccine with an efficacy rate of 92 percent, rivaling that of vaccines produced in the United States, a shortage of syringes due to the embargo prevents Cuba from ensuring its citizens' health, even though the vaccine is readily available to be produced. This deliberate approbation of Cuban death by the US government serves as an example of the US denial of Cuba’s right to self-determination, exemplifying how rather than championing self-determination, the United States is its active adversary.
In affirming the Cuban people’s right to self-determination, we condemn the blockade imposed upon Cuba and demand its immediate termination. Cuba’s global solidarity, as seen in its historical material support of various liberation movements, reflects the global struggle against colonialism and imperialism, and we in the imperial core assert our solidarity with Cuba in its continuous defiance of white supremacist, capitalist domination, as well as its creative and pioneering innovation despite the stringent sanctions exacted upon the nation. We recognize the incredible importance of Cuba as the Cuban people withstand the encroachment of US empire, and we support the Cuban government and people as they defend revolutionary socialism from US hegemony and domination.
Haiti and Cuba’s situations are not unlike others in the Global South, including Venezuela and Bolivia. Both countries were subject to regime changes, which found varying degrees of success. The US’ attempted regime change in Venezuela from Nicolás Maduro to Juan Guaido ultimately never came to pass. Evo Morales was ousted as president of Bolivia in 2019 with the installation of Jeanine Áñez, but this regime was short-lived, as the people of Bolivia voted for Luis Acre in the 2020 presidential election. The United States will intervene in whichever way it can as long as the criteria for its self interests are met. It is not new for the United States to strategically place itself in colonized regions for self-gain. The very histories of Cuba and Haiti as former slave colonies testify to the structures of capitalism and anti-Blackness in which the US is invested in order to maintain its domination and secure its interests. The Haitian and Cuban revolutions directly challenged capitalism and white supremacy, affirming the humanity of those who had been brutally exploited and dehumanized. This revolutionary struggle continues today, and it is imperative that we discern and combat the reactionary and counterrevolutionary attempts to hinder systems and movements building liberation.
As a socialist organization in the imperial core, it is our duty to resist imperialism in our residing nation. Intervention from imperial powers is never to be accepted, but rather to be fiercely fought. We will never support imperial intervention in any manner including its militaristic, financial, or diplomatic manifestations. We understand the struggles against imperialism to be interconnected, and we will always support the right to self-determination of colonized countries and its peoples.