Cuba and Mexico are two sister peoples.
We have shared a special relationship for more than 500 years. We have been bound by historical, ethnic, cultural, economic, and political ties. As early as the 15th century, there was commercial contact across the Caribbean Sea between the Maya and Taíno peoples. With the Spanish conquest and colonization, we shared a viceregal past for three centuries. The ports of Veracruz and Havana served as gateways connecting not only the two peoples but also the Americas with Europe, facilitating intense economic, cultural, and familial exchange. The majority of the population of African descent that settled in New Spain arrived from the Caribbean island.
Throughout the 19th century, we were united by the desire to achieve independence, freedom, and equality, to break the colonial yoke of Spain, and to end slavery. Mexico achieved this in 1821; Cuba, not until 1898. Many Cuban patriots, such as Pedro Ampudia, joined the ranks of the Mexican insurgents to fight for independence. There were also Mexicans, such as José Inclán, who at various times joined the Cuban independence movement. Mexico sought to aid Cuba’s independence. The Mexican government, alongside Bolívar, supported a liberation expedition led by Cuban exiles, which was ultimately thwarted. Its leader, José Francisco Lemus, was deported to Mexico.
Mexico and Cuba were also distinguished by a generous policy of asylum and support for political refugees from both nations, including Benito Juárez and Melchor Ocampo, as well as the Cuban writer and journalist Pedro Santacilia, who married Juárez’s daughter, Margarita Juárez Maza, and was a key supporter of the Mexican liberal cause. Another illustrious exile was the Cuban poet and patriot José Martí, who even went so far as to say that if he were not Cuban, he would have liked to be Mexican.
President Benito Juárez signed a decree allowing ships flying the Cuban flag to enter Mexican ports. This gesture of solidarity was the first recognition by a Latin American country in support of Cuban independence.
When Cuba gained its independence and established diplomatic relations with Mexico, a Cuban diplomat, Manuel Márquez Sterling, wrote one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of international diplomacy by courageously defending President Francisco I. Madero, with whom he was able to be in his final moments, trying to save his life and bring him and his family to Havana during the Tragic Ten Days.
Another prominent exile was Julio Antonio Mella, a Cuban communist who was imprisoned and exiled by the dictatorial government of Gerardo Machado.
He joined the anti-imperialist struggle and continued to fight against the Cuban dictator from our country. It is also well known that Fidel Castro and other Cuban exiles, along with Che Guevara, planned the revolution against Batista’s dictatorship from Mexican soil and set sail on the Granma from the coast of Veracruz.
Cuba and Mexico are also united by our two revolutions.
The Mexican Revolution had an enormous influence on Cuban democracy activists, who drew inspiration from it to guide their struggle. The Cuban Revolution has also inspired those in Mexico who have seen in its social, educational, and cultural achievements—and in its heroic defense against the U.S. blockade—an example of dignity and commitment to humanity’s noblest causes. General Lázaro Cárdenas firmly supported the Revolution and condemned the United States’ attempts to destroy it. During his visit to Havana on July 26, 1959, he stated: “We know that every nation has its own needs and that the paths peoples take to fulfill their destiny may differ, but we also know that love of justice unites us and that together we must defend ourselves against any form of economic, political, or moral imperialism that seeks to impede or halt our development as nations jealous of their sovereignty.”
These historical ties have grown stronger in recent years.
Mexico has promoted the island’s integration into international forums and has provided humanitarian aid to the island. Cuba, for its part, has sent us medical aid.
These bonds of brotherhood and solidarity, forged over more than 500 years, are especially important at this time, when the Cuban people are under brutal attack by the Donald Trump administration, which has tightened the economic blockade imposed more than 60 years ago even further and has prevented Cuba from receiving oil for the past three months, causing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. In this way, Trump seeks to put an end to a great historical endeavor to build a more just society; he wants to end a revolution that inspired the national liberation struggles of many peoples and supported popular liberation struggles in Angola, Ethiopia, the Congo, and Algeria. A revolution that resisted the U.S. invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. A revolution and a people who have not been broken and who today need solidarity and support, perhaps more than ever, and whom Mexico and its government are not leaving behind.
*Director of the National Institute for Historical Studies of the Mexican Revolutions
Original text by Felipe Ávila published in La Jornada on March 17th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
War and Peace
I will refer only in passing to Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel, which many consider to be on par with the great literary works of the Western world—works that, while not always read, are well known and serve as a point of reference from generation to generation.
I seem to recall that it was Don Daniel Cosío Villegas who said that the great works of Western literature include two from the Latin tradition: Dante’s Divine Comedy and Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote; and two from the Anglo-Saxon tradition: Goethe’s Faust and the works of Shakespeare. Why not War and Peace by the aforementioned Russian author, representing the Slavic tradition, which is also part of Western culture?
This can serve as a preamble to this article, because it is what we are currently witnessing and experiencing in the world: in Iran, formerly Persia in the Near East, in Gaza, but also closer to home in Cuba, which is threatened by the erratic U.S. President, Donald Trump.
Jacques Maritain said that there is a dual, opposing progress; two trends advance in parallel: good progresses, but evil also advances, and now we see and experience this. On the one hand, the threat of war, one of the world’s calamities alongside famine and plague.
We see and hear the calls for peace from the UN, from the Pope in Rome—the prudent wing of humanity—but simultaneously, steps are being taken toward war; they appear in Iran, in the Gaza Strip, and now very close to us, with the latest snub from the president of our neighboring country that shares its name with the friendly and loquacious Disney character, who calmly says, as if it were a joke: “I’m going to take Cuba.”
The response, of course, was immediate—what did they expect? Cubans, so close to us, so similar to Mexicans, can also say, as our national anthem does, that God gave them a soldier in every son. The image recently published on the front page of La Jornada could not be more eloquent: Silvio Rodríguez receiving an assault rifle to defend his homeland.
But, as Maritain argues, opposing signs immediately emerge—signs of peace and human solidarity that are not far behind. Several South American countries, just as in the case of Venezuela, have spoken out against this outrage; but not only that—solidarity is also present.
First, we have the firm statement from our president, Claudia Sheinbaum, raising her authoritative voice in support of Cuba—and not only that, it was not merely words, but decisive and firm actions. A first shipment arrived a few days ago, consisting of ships loaded with oil and essential supplies.
We cannot forget that Cuba’s history has always been closely linked to our own; from the largest island in the Caribbean, the first Spanish explorers, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba and Juan de Grijalva, arrived on the shores of what is now Mexico, and from there Hernán Cortés also arrived. There has always been strong communication and solidarity; in our time, political leaders Fidel Castro Ruz and Che Guevara set sail from our shores to liberate their homeland from the dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Solidarity is a virtue of our peoples that is now being demonstrated—not merely through declarations or impeccable political stances, but through concrete actions; following the initial shipments I mentioned earlier, the Mexican government, through Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente, confirms that aid will continue and that Mexico is prepared to provide tangible support: “We will continue to support the people of Cuba and seek ways, without affecting Mexico, to provide fuel to the Cuban people .”
Imperialism is not fought only with weapons in hand or through heroic acts; a policy of solidarity and an attitude consistent with one’s words carry great weight, as we are seeing in the events unfolding in Latin America. Mexico’s example is not unique; Latin American countries, including Brazil and Argentina, have supported our position, as have others such as Colombia, Paraguay, and several Central American nations.
Actions speak louder than words; a solidarity group for Cuba called “Humanidad con América Latina” has launched a very practical initiative: it opened a bank account to receive donations of various amounts to ensure sustained support over time. I know that collections have been held at several public offices and written invitations providing the account number have been circulated. Now more than ever, Latin America must peacefully but firmly demonstrate its solidarity and maintain its autonomy and independence, which, as our President has rightly said, is necessary so that sovereignty is not just an empty word.
I conclude this article by joining the protest over the death of a Mexican citizen, which has not been clarified and which occurred in an immigration detention center.
jusbb3609@hotmail.com
Original text by Bernardo Batiz published by La Jornada on March 23rd, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.