POLITICS SPAIN
Karl Sexton with AP, AFP, Reuters
Spain, Brazil and Mexico have pledged to boost aid efforts for Cuba to ease a humanitarian crisis they say is the result of a US blockade against the Caribbean island nation.
In a joint statement late on Saturday, the three nations also called for dialogue and urged against any military intervention in Cuba, adding that the Cuban people must determine their own future.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to invade Cuba and has imposed an oil blockade on the Caribbean island.
Since launching a war against Iran on February 28, Trump also floated the idea of "taking" Cuba, which has also suffered massive nationwide blackouts as a result of the US blockade.
Left-wing leaders rally in Barcelona against far right
The statement came after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hosted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Mexico's President Claudia Scheinbaum in Barcelona for a gathering of leftist leaders.
The international summit was held to defend multilateralism and democracy amid the rising challenge from the far right.
South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, were also in attendance, among others.
"Democracy cannot be taken for granted," Sanchez said during the opening of IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy, the first of the day's two events in Spain's second-largest city.
Trump critic Sanchez champions multilateralism
Sanchez, a prominent progressive world leader, is also one of the fiercest critics of Trump and the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Spain's firm 'no' to Iran war: A new voice in Europe?
Sanchez sparked Trump's ire when he refused to allow the US to use Spanish bases as part of American military operations against Iran. Trump has also condemned the Spanish leader for refusing to increase military spending form 2% to 5% of GDP.
The meeting of leftist politicians, none of whom mentioned Trump by name, comes amid the US president's repeated attacks on global institutions, including the United Nations and NATO, and his decision to start a war with Iran.
"We all see the attacks against the multilateral system, the repeated attempts to undermine international law and the dangerous normalization of the use of force,” Sanchez said.
What else did Sanchez say?
The Spanish prime minister also denounced the global far right, which he said "screams and shouts not because they are winning but because they know their time is running out."
"They know their vision of how the world should be ordered is falling apart due to the tariffs and wars," Sanchez said, adding: "Their embrace of climate change denial, of xenophobia, or sexism is their greatest error."
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump hit back, claiming Spain was doing "badly."
"Their financial numbers, despite contributing almost nothing to NATO and their military defense, are absolutely horrendous. Sad to watch!!!" Trump said.
Under Sanchez, who has governed since 2018, Spain has become one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe.
Sanchez, Lula, Ramaphosa and Klingbeil — who also serves as Germany's finance minister — stayed on for the second of the day's two events, the inaugural Global Progressive Mobilization, later on Saturday.
"The far right is international, so we must be too," Klingbeil told a crowd of left-wing activists, academics and policy makers.
Sheinbaum visit helps mend strained Spain-Mexico ties
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who had put forward the motion to caution against US military action in Cuba, was making her first visit to Spain since she took office in October 2024.
Her visit comes as ties between Spain and Mexico had been strained since 2019, when Mexico said Spain should apologize for abuses committed during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Last month, Spain's King Felipe VI acknowledged that there had been "a lot of abuse" during Spain's colonial conquests.
Sheinbaum, however, insisted that there had never been a "diplomatic crisis" between the two countries.
Venezuela's Machado, European far-right hold own rallies
Meanwhile on Saturday, Venezuela's opposition leader in exile, Maria Corina Machado, attended a rally of right-wing supporters in Madrid.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who presented her award to Trump after the US president had ordered the kidnapping and arrest of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, declined to meet with Sanchez.
While Sanchez was hosting leftist politicians, prominent far-right leaders from Europe met in Milan.
Thousands of people demonstrated in the Italian city against irregular immigration and the European Union.
The rally comes shortly after Hungarian far-right populist Viktor Orban was trounced in an election that was won by a pro-EU candidate, Peter Magyar.
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