El Salvador: Central American gathering in solidarity with Cuba

San Salvador, El Salvador – On July 27-29, 300 delegates from organizations in solidarity with Cuba from the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, México and Colombia participated in the Second Central American Gathering in Solidarity with Cuba. The gathering was organized by the Salvadoran Movement in Solidarity with Cuba, which is made up of various committees throughout El Salvador in solidarity with socialist Cuba. The gathering reaffirmed solidarity with the Cuban people and socialist government.

Fernando Gonzalez came from Cuba for the gathering. Gonzalez was one of the heroic Cuban 5 who was imprisoned in the U.S. until 2014 and now is the president of the Cuban Institute of People’s Friendship (ICAP), which builds international solidarity.

As part of the gathering, there was a march on July 27 in honor of Cuba’s national day of rebellion, commemorating the first armed uprising of the Cuban revolution. The march went from Bolívar Plaza to Martí Plaza. In the march there was a strong spirit of revolution and internationalism, with Cuban flags and revolutionary flags and banners.

On July 28, delegates paid tribute at various revolutionary monuments and tombs in San Salvador including the monument to Schafik Handal, Francisco Morazán’s tomb, Farabundo Martí’s tomb, the monument to Simon Bolivar, and Monseñor Romero’s crypt. After that delegates arrived at the Center of Studies of El Salvador (CEES), where the presentations of the gathering would take place. There were presentations such as “Latin America and the Caribbean: Imperialist offensive and the people’s resistance,” “Cuba in development: Present situation and perspectives,” “Solidarity between peoples: A historic necessity – the Cuban experience,” “Strengthening Central American movements in solidarity with Cuba, Venezuela and our America – Experiences with organization, action and struggle in defense of national sovereignty.”

There was also a presentation on July 29 titled “International support for the Salvadoran people’s struggle against imperialist aggression, carried out by the oligarchy and their party.” That was followed by a discussion. Finally, there was tribute paid to Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Ernesto Che Guevara and Hugo Chavez. The final declaration of the gathering was read as well as the action plan that was adopted, and the event closed with a cultural performance.

A participant in the gathering from Costa Rica named Bruno said, “For us it was very important to come and get to know the different solidarity groups that exist in Central America, and we’re very interested in having coordinated actions. So we wanted to see the work that other groups do so we can coordinate activities to have more force and impact in solidarity with Cuba.”

Daniel, a member of the Solidarity Committee Grateful to Cuba and Fidel in Santa Tecla, El Salvador said, “The gathering was a beautiful and important act of solidarity. Cuba gave unconditional support to the struggle in El Salvador in moments of great need, just like they have done with all the peoples of the Americas and the rest of the world. We’re proud to carry out our internationalist duty to support the Cuban people and government in their struggle against the blockade and the increasing threats from the empire. We hope to continue strengthening our links of solidarity with our Central American sisters and brothers, and with that strengthened solidarity we will be able to better confront the empire’s attacks on Cuba.”