Sawt Falasteen - Rap group Kneecap says crisis-hit Cuba being 'strangled'

The musicians are part of a motley crew of public figures and aid groups descending on the island by air and sea this week with medicine, water, food, solar panels and other supplies.

Sitting at a press conference in Havana next to former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Colombian Senator Clara Lopez, the Belfast-based musicians said there was a long tradition of Irish-Cuban solidarity.

Much like Cuba and Gaza, band member Mo Chara said, Ireland suffered under colonialism, forced starvation and oppression.

"As Irish people, it's just not in our nature to watch these things happen internationally or domestically and stay silent," said Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Og O hAnnaidh.

"We see the island of Cuba being strangled," said the musician, wearing sunglasses next to bandmates Moglai Bap and DJ Provai, the latter wearing a balaclava in the colors of the Irish flag.

"It's important that people who have a platform like us, who reach maybe a certain number of audiences... that we use that platform for what's right and what's good," he said.

Kneecap made headlines last year when Mo Chara was charged under British anti-terrorism laws for allegedly displaying a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah during a 2024 concert. The case was later dismissed by a judge.

Cuba has been under a US fuel blockade since shortly after Washington deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, a key ally of Havana, on January 3.

The blockade has caused a dire economic crisis, and power blackouts have been exacerbated by the sudden suspension of oil supplies.

US President Donald Trump has threatened Havana repeatedly since taking office, saying Monday that he would "take" the communist-run island.

Organizers of the "Our America" aid convoy say over 500 people from 30 countries in Latin America, North America, Europe and Africa are bringing more than 20 tonnes of supplies to Cuba.

The first shipment arrived from Europe on Wednesday, while a flight took off from Miami on Friday and ships are on their way from Mexico.

Corbyn acknowledged that the cargo would not be enough, and challenged Britain and European countries to "stand up" to Trump and ship oil to Cuba.

"If France, Germany and Britain instructed an oil tanker to go to Cuba to deliver oil, would the US really bomb that oil tank? Would they really stop that oil tanker going through?" Corbyn told AFP.

"No. Trump would back down. It's up to those countries that have allied themselves so closely to the USA to simply say enough is enough. Let the Cuban people survive," he said.

X.AbuJaber--SF-PST