Díaz-Canel signals US blockade during the 1:09 pandemic
(CNN) -
In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel attacked the Biden administration for maintaining the "coercive measures" against the island governed by the Communist Party launched by then-President Donald Trump.
In a prerecorded speech in Cuba, Díaz-Canel accused the United States of trying to "wipe the Cuban revolution off the map."
"Their plan is perverse and incompatible with the democracy and freedom they advocate, but our enemies must clearly know that we will not surrender the homeland," Díaz-Canel said.
US officials said the Cuban government violated the human rights of thousands of Cubans who demonstrated in July by carrying out mass arrests and summary trials.
AMLO asks the US to end the blockade in Cuba 3:23
Praise for vaccines
Díaz-Canel also praised the Cuban scientists who designed the island's own-produced covid-19 vaccines.
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Cuban children are the youngest in the world to be vaccinated against covid-19
In his speech at the UN, the president said that almost 38% of Cubans have been vaccinated in just 10 days and he expects full immunization by the end of this year.
"Thanks to the support of our men and women of science and health workers, during the first 10 days of this month more than 15.8 million doses of the vaccines Abdala, Soberana 02 and Soberana plus have been administered, and 37.8% of the Cuban population had completed the vaccination scheme. We hope to achieve full immunization by the end of 2021, which will allow us to advance in the fight against the new outbreak of the pandemic, "said Díaz-Canel.
On Thursday, Cuban health authorities announced that they had produced enough doses of the vaccines for the entire population of 11.2 million people.