In recent months, the Trump administration has been pursuing a practice of going from one place to another to denounce Barrio Adentro (a Cuban initiated health care program for the poor) and other trade instruments agreed to between third party countries and the Cuban government. In addition to declaring the program to be a violation of the U.S. trade embargo, U.S. diplomats are characterizing Barrio Adentro as a criminal enterprise and calling for it to end.

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For example, at a speech on September 26, after classifying Barrio Adentro as "human trafficking," U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, Carlos Trujillo said, "Across the Americas, there are multiple countries that continue to have these programs. What we’re really asking here is for a lot of the countries ... who are continuing to traffick and conduct these types of activities with Cuban doctors in their countries to please stop.”

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Thus, the U.S. is once again trying to put forward a doctrine of international law that tramples underfoot the sovereign rights and freedom of international trade of third party countries that have, up to now, refused to join the U.S. blockade of Cuba.

By declaring to the world that Cuban trade practices in health care and other fields are illegitimate, Washington is demonizing the Cuban health care industry as a "rogue" one and characterizing Cuban trade as a threat to U.S. national security. As with all the ultra-chauvinist doctrines of U.S. imperialism, the point is to declare the "moral superiority" of so-called "American values" and thereby justify the violation of the sovereignty of countries. Whether through the employment of the "carrot" or the "stick," the desired outcome is to destabilize Cuba's social system in order for Cuba to submit to the economic and political reforms spelled out through the trade embargo.

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Just as the so-called engagement policy of the last U.S. presidential administration did not arise from any support for the Republic of Cuba's path of independent development, the subsequent refueling of the anti-Cuba rhetoric in 2017 did not arise from any degree of change in the aims of U.S. imperialism.

As fixed in the law of the land of the United States (such as the Helms Burton and Cuban Democracy Acts), the U.S. government seeks to overthrow the government of the Republic of Cuba and return the country to the status of a colony or neo-colony.

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As long as Cuba continues to assert control over its own commercial enterprises it will be considered by U.S. imperialism to represent "the danger of a good example." And precisely because there is so much opposition amongst the people to the blockade of Cuba, U.S. imperialism is continually trying to disguise these exploiting aims. Thus, U.S. imperialism relies heavily on the tactic of "imperialist pacifism" – of promising respect, dignity and engagement while imposing its dictate through economic blockade and military blackmail.

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Today, in opposition to the peoples, U.S. imperialism pursues a foreign policy of dictate, of colonialism and neo-colonialism, of contention and collusion with other imperialist powers; in short, a foreign policy based on the idea that "might makes right." The declared "national security" policy of U.S. imperialism is to make the whole world open to investment, exploitation and domination by the biggest monopolies.

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U.S. imperialism has appointed itself the judge, jury and executioner in the hope of imposing its will on the peoples and countries. Thus, it finds one way or another to brand as "outlaw" or "rogue" states all those nations which refuse to accept its dictates.

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The blockade of Cuba is but one link in a chain of U.S. aggression across the world. In this situation, the decisive thing for the on-going solidarity movement of the American people in support of the right of Cuba to rise in struggle against imperialism is that the people organize and mobilize themselves. This is a crucial time to step up the struggle against war and militarism. The U.S. monopoly capitalist class is never going to become interested in abandoning the urge to re-establish its power to plunder Cuba, but history shows that the peoples can stop the hands of the imperialist aggressors. The decisive thing for the American working class and people is to organize themselves as an independent political force in opposition to and struggle against the U.S. capitalist parties and the imperialist system.