Governments, Cuban solidarity organizations and Communist parties are rallying in support of the socialist country after the Matanzas Supertanker Base disaster while also denouncing the US blockade.
Fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base -- image via Twitter
The devastating fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base in Cuba has been finally extinguished after blazing for days. The fire began when a lightning strike caused a large oil storage tank to ignite at the facility on August 5. The fire eventually spread to three other tanks before being put out after several days of intense and very dangerous efforts to stop it.
Internationalist solidarity teams and supplies from Mexico and Venezuela played an important role in the ultimate victory. At least 6 people have been confirmed killed as a result of the incident and at least 11 more remain missing.
While many say that US sanctions absolutely hindered efforts to combat the conflagration and will hinder recovery efforts, the governments of China, Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Chile, among others, have offered assistance of various kinds.
Cuba received solidarity and condolences messages from around the world. According to Granma there were messages from the Pope, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, secretary general of the Workers' Party of Korea, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley and numerous other leaders as well as solidarity organizations like the Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba, the Uruguayan Committee of Solidarity with Cuba and the Peoples of the World and the Canadian Network of Solidarity with Cuba.
A number of Communist and workers' parties expressed both solidarity with the socialist nation while also condemning the ongoing blockade by the United States. These included the Communist parties of Swaziland, France and Greece and the Workers' Party of Ireland.
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) wrote:
The Cuban people, who have for over six decades gallantly fought against the illegal and unilateral US embargo, are united more than ever even at this difficult stage where the imperialist US regime has imposed more illegal economic sanctions on their country. As the Cuban people defended their country in 1961 against the Bay of Pigs invasion by the imperialist US regime and against continuous acts of imperialist aggression, they have once again united to fight against the flames. They have done this while at one and the same time defending Cuba’s national sovereignty.
The United Nations has since 1992 overwhelmingly voted against the US-imposed embargo on Cuba. On 23 June 2021, 184 countries voted in favour of a United Nations resolution to demand the end of the US economic blockade of Cuba. This was for the 29th year in a row. Only the US and its apartheid ally, Israel, voted against the resolution.
The CPS calls for worldwide practical solidarity with the people of Cuba in the fight to contain the disaster and recover their economy. In this regard, the CPS also reiterates its demand for the end of the embargo to allow the Cuban people to acquire crucial supplies to rebuild their country’s infrastructure and economy.
Please convey to the Central Committee of the CP of Cuba, the government and the people of Cuba our internationalist solidarity for the large fire and destruction as a result of the powerful lightning that struck the Matanzas oil facilities.
We would like particularly extend our solidarity to the firefighters, the members of the Armed Forces and all those who are fighting heroically to extinguish the fire and rescue the missing persons, and we wish a quick recovery to the injured ones.
The accident, which happened in an extremely complex and difficult period for the energy supply of all states, makes even more necessary the intensification of the struggle against the criminal US blockade of Cuba and its lifting even more imperative.
its heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the people of Cuba, and in particular, the province of Matanzas, at their time of suffering and loss as a result of the devastating fire due to lightning at the super tanker base. The WPI commends the heroic efforts of the Cuban firefighters, the personnel of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Ministry of Interior and all those workers who have been on the front line in a very complex and dangerous situation and the assistance rendered by Mexico and Venezuela.
The Workers Party of Ireland has a particular affection for Matanzas having sent a large delegation to that region to participate in May Day celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Our Party sympathises with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives and suffered injury as a result of this tragedy.