Grenada stands firm with Cuba, says PM Mitchell

Despite the enormous pressure the U.S. is exerting on Caribbean Community nations to ease relations, Grenada’s government is reminding the world of its decades of close ties with Cuba, as the two marked 47 years of unbroken friendship this week.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, speaking at an observance ceremony, reaffirmed Grenada’s support for programs like the hiring of Cuban medical professionals, telling guests, “In Grenada, you have a friend and a home.” This stance comes as Washington urges regional governments to abandon such programs, with the State Department arguing that the payment system — where the Cuban government retains most of the practitioners’ salaries — amounts to slave labor and human trafficking, and demanding that governments end or drastically revise the arrangement.

U.S. authorities have also threatened to cancel the visas of regional authorities involved with the program. The result is that dozens of practitioners have begun heading home despite offers from authorities to hire them individually at full pay. Mitchell signaled that relations will remain intact.

“It is important for us to know what is right, say what is right, stand for what is right, and stand against what is wrong, and we stand for the Grenada-Cuba friendship,” he said, noting that relations will remain as they are “even if we have to run away to live to fight another day.”

Officials from both sides recalled cooperation agreements and decades of Cuban assistance, notably in building the Maurice Bishop International Airport in the early 80s and training more than 500 Grenadians in medicine, agriculture, engineering, and other fields.

Grenada consistently aligns with its CARICOM partners in denouncing the U. S. blockade, further reinforcing its unwavering stance with Cuba.

The Grenadian Mission in Havana stressed that, amid current geopolitical tensions and economic hardship, Grenada’s solidarity with Cuba remains absolute. The mission reaffirmed Grenada’s gratitude for historic cooperation and emphasized that respect for sovereignty and self-determination guides the partnership.