Havana, Cuba.- Cuba today thanked the governments of the Caribbean Community (Carimon) for the United States to lift its punishments against Cuba and Venezuela.

The position of the 15 member countries of the bloc took place the day before during an urgent summit, by videoconference, convened by Barbados, the country that currently holds the pre-temporary presidency, to decide actions against the scourge of Covid-19.

During the exchange, the rulers spoke out against Washington’s sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, since they considered that all nations should be part of the global effort to combat the pandemic.

We deeply thank #Caricom for their recent request to #USA to lift sanctions against #Cuba and #Venezuela and we support their call for all countries to be part of the global effort to combat the # COVID19 pandemic, he signed in his Twitter the first deputy minister of Foreign Relations, Marcelino Medina.

To help in the fight against the new coronavirus, Cuba carries out solidarity work with its medical brigades of the Henry Reeve Contingent, in Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Granada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas and Haiti receive support from Cuban health brigades, which also care for sick patients with coronavirus.

These are, for the most part, small island states that depend mainly on the income of the tourism industry, paralyzed worldwide by the spread of the disease.

The urgent summit addressed, among other issues, the health, food security and protection of the elderly from illness.

The rulers also ‘regretted that resources for the World Health Organization were being threatened at a time when all must unite to lead the fight against the pandemic,’ said an official statement.

That pronouncement constitutes a direct allusion to the decision of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to withdraw the funds that his country delivers to the governing body of health at the international level.