"We will know how to resist any aggression, but that we will know how to overcome any aggression, and that again we would have no other dilemma than that with which we began the revolutionary struggle: that of freedom or death".
Quotes
“Above the lies and slander, above the repression and force, of propaganda and imperialist crimes, the Cuban workers and peasants have buried capitalist society for good, as a veritable corpse that can never again come back to life.”
"Can anyone be surprised then that the Conference should be obliged, for reasons not arising from any political prejudice but from the objective analysis of the facts, to point out that United States policy plays a fundamental part in preventing the establishment of just and complete peace in the region, by allying itself with and backing Israel and by working to obtain partial solutions favoring Zionist aims and ensuring the fruits of Israeli aggression at the cost of the Arab peoples of Palestine and of the entire Arab nation?"
“Imperialism is the one that needs weapons, since it is bereft of ideas. In order to maintain this opprobrious system as well as all those situations that have been described here, it needs weapons; it has to maintain all those situations by resorting to the use of force. But if there are ideas, if ideas in fact exist, we can defend those ideas; we can make those ideas to succeed. Ideas do not require weapons as long as they are able to conquer the big masses. Nobody should think that the contradiction between Socialism and Capitalism could be solved by force; one has to be mad to think that way. And the imperialists are the ones who think that way. That is why they keep their military basis everywhere in the World. They threaten the whole world; they intervene anywhere.”
“The importance of the Bay of Pigs does not lie in the size of the battle, or the number of combatants, or the heroic events which took place there; the enormous historical importance of the Bay of Pigs is not what happened but what didn’t happen thanks to the Bay of Pigs!”
“What could never be imagined by those who commit big crimes against peoples in the middle of their euphoria over their impunity and ephemeral power, is that the truth, sooner or later, makes its way through. So has it been for those who crucified Christ for conveying a message of love and solidarity to the poor and oppressed of Rome, two thousand years ago, and even for those who kept Nelson Mandela behind bars during 27 years for fighting the hideous Apartheid regime in the middle of the 20th century.”
“(…) But the Cuban Adjustment Act is a death factory that they have established and that must be removed. We will not give in on this point. Our stance is more encompassing still: we will keep on fighting until an end is brought not only to the Cuban Adjustment Act, but also the Torricelli Act, the Helms-Burton Act, the blockade and all the conspiracies against our country, which have now lasted over 40 years. (…)”
“[...]How great our people are! How invincible a just cause is! How important it is to believe in human beings! How beautiful it is to fight for great ideals! How much light and happiness can emanate from an innocent little boy as a gift to the people who were prepared to die for one of their most beloved sons!”
"In Cuba we have never cultivated hatred against the American people or blamed them for the aggressions perpetrated by the governments of that country. That would have run contrary to our political doctrines and our internationalist conscience, both well-proven throughout many years, and increasingly rooted in our ideas."
“In Cuba we have never cultivated hatred against the American people or blamed them for the aggressions perpetrated by the governments of that country. That would have run contrary to our political doctrines and our internationalist conscience, both well-proven throughout many years, and increasingly rooted in our ideas.”
“Cuba is waging a battle today against the giant with seven-league boots, first discovered by Marti, and whose steps not only reach the lands of our America, but all those of the rest of the planet.”
"Cuba’s attitude, and its response to the empire’s provocations, will be entirely peaceful, but we shall strike back with all the strength of our moral fortitude and we shall persist in our determination to fight to the death, against whatever act of belligerence of the restless and brutal empire that threatens us. Let no one for a minute forget the oath of Maceo, our Bronze Titan, when he said that whosoever attempts to take possession of Cuba shall conquer but the blood-soaked ground beneath his feet, if he does not first perish in battle".