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| Volume 56 Number 16, May 30, 2026 | ARCHIVE | HOME | JBCENTRE | SUBSCRIBE |
President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez and other
Cuban leaders at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, May 22,
2026 - Photo: CubaDebate
Britain's trade union movement and parliamentarians have issued a stark warning over escalating US aggression against Cuba, with two major open letters condemning Donald Trump's latest actions against the island and calling on the British government to oppose any move towards intervention.
The interventions come amid growing international concern over the Trump administration's intensifying economic warfare and increasing public threats of military action against Cuba.
The trade union statement, co-ordinated by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and signed by 17 of Britain's most senior trade union leaders, warns of a "dangerous escalation" in US hostility and expresses solidarity with the Cuban people and Cuban trade unions at a moment of mounting crisis.
Signatories include general secretaries Paul Nowak (TUC), Andrea Egan (UNISON), Sharon Graham (Unite), Gary Smith (GMB) Daniel Kebede (NEU), Fran Heathcote (PCS), Dave Ward (CWU), Eddie Dempsey (RMT), Jo Grady (UCU) and Gawain Little (GFTU) alongside leaders from unions representing rail, firefighters, bakers and prison officers.
The trade union leaders condemn the latest US measures against Cuba, including the indictment of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, describing them as part of a broader campaign of "economic warfare, political aggression and destabilisation directed against the Cuban people".
Their statement warns that current US actions risk "further inflaming tensions and creating a pretext for intervention against a sovereign nation."
It comes as Cuba faces severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines following the Trump administration's latest escalation of sanctions, including measures which have cut off oil supplies to the island.
The other letter, signed by 36 MPs and peers from seven political parties through the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba, urges Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to publicly condemn what it describes as "falsified, inhumane and unprovoked attacks" on Cuba by the United States government.
The parliamentarians warn that Washington is attempting to move the United States "closer towards a state of belligerence with the Republic of Cuba, on a clearly fabricated pretext".
They argue that the indictment against Raúl Castro must be viewed in the context of a wider campaign of aggression, pointing to recent executive orders intensifying the blockade against Cuba, alongside increasingly provocative claims from US officials.
The letter references recent assertions by the Trump administration that Cuba has obtained military drones and may pose a threat to a US military base - claims parliamentarians suggest are intended to manufacture support for further confrontation.
The APPG on Cuba also questions why allegations relating to the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue incident are only now being pursued, noting that no previous US administration - including Trump's own first presidency - sought such action.
"Were there any validity" to the claims, the letter asks, "what new evidence has come to light" after three decades and five previous administrations?
Parliamentarians further argue that the indictment has no lawful basis under international law and represents an extraordinary example of US overreach.
The interventions reflect growing concern within the British labour movement over the humanitarian impact of the US blockade, which has now been imposed on Cuba for more than six decades and has been dramatically intensified in recent years.
Trade union leaders warn that the combination of sanctions, fuel shortages and economic coercion is inflicting immense hardship on ordinary Cubans and threatening essential services across the island.
Their statement calls on the British government to oppose all attempts at foreign intervention and to demand an end to the US blockade and sanctions.
CSC director Rob Miller said the letters demonstrated "growing alarm at the increasingly dangerous direction of US policy towards Cuba".
"At a time when the Cuban people are already enduring immense hardship caused by the US blockade and sanctions, the Trump administration is escalating tensions through threats, false accusations and economic warfare," he said. "The British government must not remain silent. Britain should stand firmly for peace, sovereignty and international law, and oppose any attempt to justify intervention against Cuba."
For full text of letters see:
https://www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk//resources/open%20letter%20from%20british%20trade%20unionists%20oppose%20trumptopublish.pdf
https://www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk//resources/mpslettertoyvettecooper.pdf
(Cuba Solidarity Campaign)