New Cuban President visits the US for the first time
In New York, President Miguel Diaz-Canel will condemn the US embargo and meet with leaders of other countries and the Cuban-American community.
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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends a meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela on May 30. Photo: Reuters. |
New Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel arrived in New York on September 23 to attend the United Nations General Assembly's Nelson Mandela Peace Summit today and the General Assembly session on September 26, according toReuters.
President Diaz-Canel is expected to denounce the decades-old US trade embargo on Cuba at the General Assembly. "We condemn the extraordinary blockade, which has failed and will continue to fail. It is also the longest blockade in the history of mankind," Diaz-Canel said during the trip.
The non-binding UN resolution calls on the US to lift its embargo on Cuba as soon as possible. However, only the US Congress can fully lift the embargo, which has been in place for more than 50 years.
Diaz-Canel will also meet with other foreign leaders this week, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Americans who support good relations with Cuba and members of the Cuban-American community. He will also speak at the Riverside Church in New York on September 26.
Diaz-Canel, who took over as Cuban president from Raul Castro in April, made his first official trip to Venezuela in May.
Tensions between the United States and Cuba escalated last year after President Donald Trump tightened the embargo on Havana. Washington also accused Havana of carrying out a series of medical attacks on U.S. diplomats in Cuba. The Cuban government denied the accusations, saying the Trump administration was using the incident as a pretext to escalate hostility toward Cuba.
