Hands Off Cuba!

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades joined other protesters  outside the American embassy on Saturday calling for an end to the imperialist blockade of Cuba. The Hands Off Cuba demo was organised by  the British Chapter of the Venezuela-based Anti-Fascist International which the NCP joined last month. New groups and parties are joining the Chapter at the present time like IJAN, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, whose supporters came along with their banner for this protest. 
Venezuela has been at the forefront of the construction of an International Anti-Fascist movement which began in 2024. In its resolution of January 2025, the Congress of the Anti-Fascist International expressed its recognition of this effort and stated that, “Venezuela has been a beacon in the global struggle against fascism, imperialism, colonialism, Zionism and all forms of human exploitation and domination, playing a central role in the coordination of international initiatives aimed at building a new world based on justice, unity, peace, solidarity and mutual respect between nations”.

Defending Cuba!

Outside the embassy

by New Worker correspondent

Cuba solidarity activists were on the streets of London last weekend to protest against the American blockade and confront provocations by Cuban émigrés and other agents of imperialism calling for increased sanctions and US action, including direct intervention.
    Rabid anti-communist US politicians and far-right Cuban-American émigré groups based in Florida had called for a global weekend of action against the socialist island. But in London they had little to show for it apart from a handful who turned up outside the Cuban embassy on Sunday only to find it surrounded by over a hundred supporters of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.
    Meanwhile, the new US embassy in Nine Elms was picketed by the Consistent Democrats, a left split from Socialist Fight, The demonstration was in defence of the Cuban revolution and a show of solidarity with the Cuban people against the “Gusano” or “worms”, as they’re known in Cuba, mobilisation.

Farewell to Teresita

 

 by New Worker correspondent

Teresita Vicente welcomes guests

New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks joined diplomats, politicians, businessmen and solidarity workers at a reception to say goodbye to Teresita Vicente Sotolongo the Cuban ambassador, who returned to Havana at the end her five-year tour of duty in London last month.

Honoured guests, which included Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, heard Teresita highlight Cuba’s long relationship with Britain and her fond memories of Britain, at the lunch-time commemoration in a London hotel that also marked Cuba’s National Day.

Britain maintained diplomatic relations with Cuba throughout the Cold War and British–Cuban trade has thrived in recent years, boosted by the efforts of the Cuban tourist industry to attract more visitors to the socialist island in the Caribbean.

Stand by Cuba!

Alabama 3 take the stage

 By New Worker correspondent

This year’s RMT Cuba Garden Party in Clapham, south London last week saw hundreds of members and friends of the transport union RMT gather to show their support for socialist Cuba as it faces a new wave of attacks from the Trump government. The guest of honour was Cuban international medical volunteer Dr Emanuel Fonseca, who said that Cuba “Deeply believes that a better world is possible, and this is only possible by socialism”.

Teresita Vicente, Cuba’s ambassador to Britain, said that: “In three years, Trump has undone all the progress in our relations with the USA,” and that the need for international solidarity was greater than ever. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was cheered loudly when he said that a Labour government “will be your staunch allies – we will support trade to stop any attack that Trump and the USA try to make against Cuba”. RMT general secretary Mick Cash and Communication Workers Union (CWU) leader Dave Ward also stressed their unions’ strong commitment to Cuba.

Superb live music was provided by the Cuban salsa band {Raíces Cubanas} and south London-based Alabama 3, whose track Woke Up This Morning was used for TV’s The Sopranos credits.

Cuban National Day in London

By New Worker correspondent

Teresita Vicente welcoming guests

New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks joined diplomats, businessmen and solidarity workers at a celebration to mark Cuba’s National Day in London last week. Cuba’s Ambassador in London, Teresita Vicente Sotolongo, highlighted Cuba’s long relationship with Britain, which began with the brief occupation of Havana and other parts of the island during the Seven Years War with Spain in the 18^th century.

Britain maintained diplomatic relations with the socialist island throughout the Cold War and British–Cuban trade has thrived in recent years, boosted by the efforts of the Cuban tourist industry to attract more visitors from Britain and the rest of the European Union (EU).

Last November Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel stopped over in London following talks in China, Democratic Korea, Laos and Vietnam. There, he held talks with the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and members of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. and paid tribute to Karl Marx at a ceremony at the Marxist thinker’s tomb in Highgate.