Ceremony commemorates 195th anniversary of Simón Bolívar's death

HAVANA, Cuba, December 17 (ACN) On the occasion of the 195th anniversary of the death of Simón Bolívar, the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Cuba held a wreath-laying ceremony and a political-cultural event at the House-Museum in Havana named after the Liberator.

The observance, attended by Cuban government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, Venezuelan institutions and representatives of solidarity movements, was led by the Venezuelan ambassador, Orlando Maneiro Gaspar, who delivered a speech laden with historical symbolism and political denunciation to highlight the relevance of Bolívar's anti-imperialist thoughts in the current context of Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Today we remember how our Liberator warned us about the ambitions of the United States empire, whose latest actions clearly reveal its intentions to seize our resources," the diplomat stated, in reference to the recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, which he described as "a reckless threat" that violates international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

"It is a declaration that seeks to break the unity of our peoples," he asserted, stressing that the aggression will go on until Venezuela gives up its territory, oil fields, and wealth.

Mr. Maneiro underscored the importance of regional unity to counter such onslaught and recalled the recent 25th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), where member countries issued a statement rejecting the aggressions and strengthening solidarity, including the creation of an energy mechanism to support Cuba.

The event also commemorated the return to Cuba, ten years ago, of the anti-terrorist heroes Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, and Antonio Guerrero, who set an example of resistance against foreign interference.

As the keynote speaker, Venezuelan Major General Luis Guzmán, Defense Attaché, drew a parallel between Bolívar's integrationist vision and today’s challenges, and stressed that the Liberator was not only a military genius but also an intellectual who proposed a confederation of American states based on voluntary agreements, not on conquest.

“Bolívar planned to unite nations of similar origin through autonomous agreements as part of what was, and still is, a long-term strategic historical project”, he held. “Just as in Bolívar's time, to hesitate today in the face of imperial threats would be a betrayal”.

Quoting the Liberator, he recalled: “To hesitate is to lose ourselves,” and linked this idea of ​​the Bolivarian legacy with that of Commander Hugo Chávez, who salvaged and updated the project of unity for the Greater Homeland, supported also by the steadfastness of the Cuban Revolution.

The event closed with an unequivocal message of solidarity with the just causes of the world and support for the Palestinian people and the unbreakable alliance between Cuba and Venezuela.

“We are dignified peoples of similar origins, and we will keep fighting together against imperialism for our sovereignty and for the truth”, the Venezuelan ambassador concluded.