Hundreds from 36 countries rally in Havana against U.S. blockade

Delegates from 36 countries gathered in Havana on Friday in a public display of solidarity that Cuban officials cast as proof that the island is not standing alone as U.S. pressure intensifies. The meeting at the Palace of Conventions brought together parliamentarians, judges, ambassadors, intellectuals, trade unionists and community leaders, turning what could have been a routine political assembly into a visible show of backing for Cuba’s sovereignty.

The timing sharpened the message. Cuban state media and solidarity organizers linked the event to May Day defiance, while the Trump administration expanded sanctions on Cuba the same day, adding to a confrontation that Cuban leaders have described as an effort to strangle the country economically. President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has called the blockade an “economic and energy asphyxiation project,” and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla has described recent U.S. measures as “collective punishment” and “unilateral coercive measures.”

One recognizable face among the Cuban side was Alejandro García del Toro, who helped frame the gathering as a statement of resistance rather than charity. On the foreign side, David Adler was among the delegates who underscored the international reach of the event. Their presence mattered because the rally was not limited to speeches. It signaled that Cuba’s political allies were arriving in person, at a moment when shortages, blackouts and tighter financial restrictions continue to bite across the island.

The Havana gathering also sat inside a broader spring wave of solidarity activity. In March, the Nuestra América Convoy brought more than 600 activists from 33 to 38 countries, along with more than 140 organizations, to Cuba with food, medicines, hygiene products, medical equipment and solar panels. Organizers described that effort as both a political message against the blockade and a practical response to daily shortages caused by sanctions and financial limits.

Cuban officials have also pointed to recent talks with U.S. officials in Havana, saying the exchange was respectful and professional and that ending the U.S. oil blockade was a top priority. But the larger message from Friday’s rally was more immediate: after more than six decades of embargo, Cuba is still trying to convert outside solidarity into a domestic signal of endurance. As the “My signature for the Homeland” campaign continues, the political aim is clear, to tell ordinary Cubans that the island’s isolation is being challenged in public, by allies from across the world, in the middle of Havana itself.