Ibero-America asks Obama to end the blockade of Cuba

ESTORIL, Portugal, December 1.—The 19th Ibero-American Summit, which ended today in this city, approved a joint declaration demanding the end of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba, mounted by the United States for 50 years, which was signed by the 22 member countries of the bloc.

The special communiqué asked Washington to immediately halt the implementation of measures adopted against the island in the last five years to intensify the blockade’s impact, and reaffirms "that in the defense of free exchange, transparent practices and international trade, the implementation of unilateral coercive measures is unacceptable."

"We reiterate our most energetic rejection of the implementation of laws and measures contrary to international law" that have tightened the blockade and "exhort the U.S. government to put an end to their application," reads the text, which also condemned the imposition of the arbitrary Helms-Burton Act.

The Summit asked Washington to comply with the 18 resolutions condemning the U.S. coercive unilateral policy passed by the UN General Assembly.

The Estoril Summit likewise demanded an end to the impunity enjoyed by the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, the mastermind of many attacks and violent acts against Cuba.

In a communiqué the dignitaries from 22 countries rejected condemned the fact that the criminal, responsible for a bomb explosion aboard a Cuban passenger plane in 1976, has still not been put on trial for acts of terrorism.

The forum reaffirmed the value of extradition legislation as an essential tool in combating terrorism and called on states that receive such applications from Ibero-American nations to duly consider them, in full adherence to the applicable legal framework.

At the same time, delegates to the meeting established a common position for confronting climate change with a global, effective and immediate response, guided by justice and equity.

The position of the Ibero-American community was reflected in a special communiqué adopted by the Summit in the Cascais Miragem Hotel in this Portuguese resort 25 kilometers from Lisbon.