Spain, Brazil and Mexico have pledged to boost aid efforts for Cuba to ease a humanitarian crisis they said was the result of a US blockade against the Caribbean island nation.
In a joint statement late Saturday, the three countries called for dialogue and urged against any military intervention in Cuba, adding that the Cuban people must decide their own future.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to invade Cuba and imposed an oil blockade on the Caribbean island.
Since launching the war against Iran on February 28, Trump has also floated the idea of ”taking over” Cuba, which also suffered a massive nationwide blackout as a result of the US blockade.
Left leaders rally in Barcelona against the far right
The statement came as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hosted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Barcelona for a gathering of leftist leaders.
The international summit was held to defend multilateralism and democracy amid a growing challenge from the far right.
South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil were also present, among others.
“Democracy cannot be taken for granted,” Sanchez said during the opening of the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy, the first of two events of the day in Spain’s second-largest city.
Trump critic Sanchez is a supporter of multilateralism
Sanchez, a prominent world progressive leader, is one of the staunchest critics of Trump and the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Sanchez drew Trump’s ire when he refused to allow the US to use Spanish bases as part of US military operations against Iran. Trump has also criticized the Spanish leader for refusing to increase military spending from 2% to 5% of GDP.
The meeting of leftist politicians, none of whom mentioned Trump by name, is taking place amid the US president’s repeated attacks on global institutions including the UN and NATO and his decision to launch a war with Iran.
“We all see attacks against the multilateral system, repeated attempts to undermine international law, and a dangerous normalization of the use of force,” Sanchez said.
What else did Sanchez say?
The Spanish Prime Minister also condemned the global far right, which he said “screams and hollers not because they are winning, but because they know their time is running out.”
“They know that their vision of how the world should be organized is breaking down because of tariffs and wars,” Sanchez said. He added: “Employing climate change denial, xenophobia or sexism is their biggest mistake.”
In a post on his Truth social platform, Trump hit back, claiming Spain was performing “badly”.
“Despite contributing almost nothing to NATO and their military defense, their financial numbers are absolutely terrible. Sad to see!!!” Trump said.
Under Sanchez, who has ruled since 2018, Spain has become one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe.
Sanchez, Lula, Ramaphosa and Klingbiel — who also serves as Germany’s finance minister — stopped by on Saturday for the inaugural Global Progressive Mobilization, the second of the day’s two events.
“The far right is international, so we should be too,” Klingbeil told the crowd of left-wing activists, academics and policymakers.
Sheinbaum visit will help improve strained Spain-Mexico relations
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who proposed warning against US military action in Cuba, was making her first visit to Spain since taking office in October 2024.
His visit follows tense relations between Spain and Mexico since 2019, when Mexico said Spain should apologize for abuses committed during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Last month, Spain’s King Felipe VI acknowledged that there were “enormous abuses” during Spain’s colonial conquest.
However, Sheinbaum stressed that there has never been a “diplomatic crisis” between the two countries.
Venezuela’s Machado, European far-right hold their own rallies
Meanwhile, on Saturday, exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado attended a rally of right-wing supporters in Madrid.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who presented his award to Trump after the US president ordered the kidnapping and arrest of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, refused to meet Sanchez.
While Sanchez was hosting leftist politicians, Europe’s leading far-right leaders met in Milan.
Thousands of people demonstrated in the Italian city against irregular immigration and the European Union.
The rally comes shortly after Hungary’s far-right populist Viktor Orban was defeated in elections, which were won by pro-EU candidate Peter Magyar.
Edited by: Alex Berry