New Delhi, Feb 19 – Cuba's Minister of Communications, Mayra Arevich, denounced today here the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States as the main obstacle to the digital and technological development of the Caribbean nation.
She stated that it limits access to essential technologies and platforms for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and jeopardizes the energy sustainability of the country's digital infrastructure. Arevich made these remarks in the context of the AI Impact Summit, the first to be held in a Global South country.
She referred to the recent executive order by President Donald Trump declaring Cuba as an unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States, as well as the consequent imposition of tariffs on countries supplying oil to the largest of the Antilles.
“It is a new and serious attack against our sovereignty. It is an economic war, a genocidal act that seeks to punish the entire Cuban population, cause internal wear, and endanger the lives of millions of Cubans,” she emphasized.
In this regard, the Cuban minister strongly condemned the application of unilateral coercive measures that violate international law and, she added, affect development, peace, and global progress, preventing the transformative power of AI from truly serving all humanity.
The Cuban Minister of Communications added that the potential of artificial intelligence will only materialize if we overcome the structural inequalities of the current unjust and undemocratic international economic order.
She called to prioritize strategies and regulations for the ethical and responsible use of AI, adapted to our contexts and values, in light of technological disparities and digital divides that mainly affect the Global South.
Arevich affirmed that Cuba defends open, compatible, and non-discriminatory international standards and considered South-South cooperation key to building shared capacities and breaking technological asymmetries.
She reaffirmed her country's categorical rejection of the use of AI for criminal, terrorist purposes or interference in the internal affairs of our states, including the manipulation of history and sovereignty.
The Cuban minister gave examples of the island's policies regarding this technology, such as the approval in 2024 of the strategy for its development and use, and explained that Cuban universities and companies are already developing applications in health, agriculture, education, disaster management, among other sectors, with a humanistic approach.
She also noted that study plans are being updated at all educational levels to train professionals skilled in AI with strong ethical awareness and responsibility.
“This progress is achieved despite the unjust economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the US government for more than six decades,” she stressed.
Arevich added that the collective challenge is to ensure that the development and use of Artificial Intelligence translate into well-being for all, without exclusions, and that technological opportunities are widely shared among all regions.
Finally, she reaffirmed Cuba's commitment to collaborate in this endeavor, convinced that only with solidarity — above the selfishness of geopolitical and corporate interests — can a just and humane digital future be built.
