As part of her attendance to the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit, Castro recalled how the unilateral blockade is condemned from UN as an obsolete arbitrary measure that punishes an entire people.

“Trillions of dollars are being sent in weapons for war, but we are not capable of building the integral development of humanity with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN for 2030,” Castro added.

She also urged all assets illegally withheld from the Venezuelan people be returned, and barriers that prevent normalization of trade relations with sister countries such as Nicaragua must be lifted.

Castro expressed that both regional blocs are bound to analyze the architecture of the world, taking into account that it does not contribute to avoid dependence, migration and environmental deterioration.

“It is important to discuss our differences and also identify the points we have in common. A solution to structural issues that really impct on our peoples nowdays is an unavoidable imperative. For CELAC, it is quite important to keep respectful fraternal relations, but with reciprocity with the EU,” she said.

She also commented on his government’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China because “exchange and cooperation for development is based on independence and sovereignty principles, not interference”.

Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Castro considered that both EU and CELAC are obliged to find a way to achieve peace in that region.

The most conservative neo-colonialist and anti-democratic sectors want the past to be forgotten, while they defend a historical amnesia that unleashed terrible and unjust persecutions against several leaders inlcuding Lula da Silva, Rafael Correa, Dilma Rousseff, Cristina Kirchner, Evo Morales, among others. Pll/rgh/ifs