A humanitarian response to US pressure
Brazil, Mexico, and Spain issued a joint statement pledging to increase aid deliveries to Cuba, which they described as undergoing a "humanitarian crisis." The commitment came during a gathering of leftist leaders in Barcelona on Saturday, where the three nations also called for dialogue and urged against any military intervention in Cuba, adding that the Cuban people must determine their own future.
The pledge directly addresses Cuba's fuel shortage and resulting blackouts. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to invade Cuba and has imposed an oil blockade on the Caribbean island.
Spain and Mexico repair fractured relations
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's visit marked the first by a Mexican president in eight years, signaling a thaw in relations that had deteriorated since 2019. That year, Sheinbaum's predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, demanded that Spain apologize for human rights violations during its conquest. When the request went unanswered, Sheinbaum took the unusual decision not to invite Spain's King Felipe VI to her inauguration in 2024, and Spain refused to send any representative.
Recent gestures have softened the divide. King Felipe said in March that there had been "a lot of abuse" during the conquest of the territory that would become Mexico. Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares won plaudits from Sheinbaum last October when he said there had been "pain and injustice" in the countries' shared history. Upon arriving at the Barcelona summit, Sheinbaum said there was "no diplomatic crisis" with Spain. Spain's economy minister called her presence "a very important and positive sign of a rapprochement between the two countries."
Leftist leaders challenge global order
The summit, formally called the fourth meeting of the In Defence of Democracy initiative, gathered leaders intent on countering what they view as threats to multilateralism. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said democracy "cannot be taken for granted" and warned of "attacks on the multilateral system, one attempt after another to challenge the rules of international law, and a dangerous normalisation of the use of force."
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the UN Security Council, saying its five permanent members—the US, China, Russia, France and the UK—had become "lords of war." He stated that "no president of any country in the world, however powerful, has the right to keep imposing rules on other countries." Attendees also included Colombian President Gustavo Petro and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.
Sánchez directly denounced the global far right, saying it "screams and shouts not because they are winning but because they know their time is running out." Trump responded on Truth Social, claiming Spain was doing "badly" and criticizing its military spending relative to NATO contributions.
For example, Sheinbaum's comments about no diplomatic crisis with Spain came just before her meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who did not comment on the state of relations.