Cuba marched against the US blockade and sanctions. Photo: Enrique González (Enro)/ Cubadebate.In the stillness of a Havana night, the only sounds are the hum of a generator at a distant hospital and the murmur of a family gathered by candlelight. For them, “US national security” is not an abstract concept debated on American cable news; it is the tangible reality of a 20-hour blackout, the smell of spoiled food, and the fear for a child’s refrigerated medicine. This is the face of a policy that the United States government characterizes as a response to an “extraordinary threat.” The real threat, however, is not military. It is the 67-year-old defiance of a small island nation that has refused to relinquish its sovereignty.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, reflected today in his Twitter account that 11.2 million euros were collected during the closing ceremony of the 23rd Habano Festival, dedicated to the national health system.

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry keeps systematic contacts with Panamanian authorities in both capital cities about the requirement of transit visas for Cuban citizens and further modifications of that indication.