Chicago, IL – About 100 Chicagoans rallied at a press conference and picketed the Federal Plaza on Wednesday, October 28 to demand an end to the genocidal U.S. blockade on Cuba. Earlier that day, the U.N. General Assembly voted for the 34th time to condemn the economic embargo unilaterally imposed by the U.S. government as a violation of international law. 130 countries supported the resolution, while 17 countries – led by the U.S. and Israel – opposed.

A founding member of Cuban Americans for Cuba said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “is trying to make life unlivable in Cuba while preventing people from coming here; effectively trying to orchestrate a pressure-cooker situation to force an uprising and gain control of Cuba.”

“We won’t stand for it,” she said. “Rubio does not speak for us. Collective punishment is a war crime, and our families are not collateral.” Her words received applause and were followed by chants of “¡Cuba sí, bloqueo no!” and “ICE out!”

The rally, which was endorsed by over 25 faith, labor and social justice organizations, was organized by the Chicago Cuba Coalition and Venceremos Brigade in response to escalating aggression against Cuba and worsening conditions on the island. In January 2026, the United States government imposed a total energy blockade on Cuba, threatening any country that supplied the island with oil.

U.S. Congressman Jonthan L. Jackson, who represents the First Congressional District in Illinois, described his experience traveling to Cuba on a fact-finding mission in April. He said, “When I went into the maternity ward, I saw little babies with low birthweights who needed an incubator, but the incubators were blown out because they have power surges. I saw women in their last trimester not being able to use an elevator and not being able to have any air conditioning. I saw shortages of food.”

The congressman called for Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to be impeached, saying “what [Hegseth] is doing in the Caribbean is illegal: ‘tapping’ on boats, killing people. Those are military bombs hitting civilian boats. It’s simply wrong, and they’re doing it in our name, with our tax dollars.”

Vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, Jackson Potter, asked the crowd of protesters, “What if we funded our schools at home and fed our children here in this country instead of bombing them abroad or blockading them?”

25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who represents immigrant communities in the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, also condemned Marco Rubio for calling on Cubans to collaborate with the CIA to overthrow their government. He stated that Cubans, “don’t want to go back to the times of dictatorships like Batista – when Cubans were treated as pawns in their own country for casinos and corporations to gain.”

“We see actual terrorism and interventions throughout Latin America that are spreading terror, war, starvation, and chaos in the name of ‘democracy,’” the alderman said.

Kobi Guillory, a leader of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, closed out the press conference with the chant made famous by Black liberationist Assata Shakur, who passed away as a free woman in Cuba last year. “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” He added this important reminder to the end of the chant: “And we have a world to win!”

After the press conference, protesters picketed and chanted in front of the federal building.

Bystanders reacted by stopping to read banners, take photos, and ask questions.

Organizers called on protesters to be prepared to mobilize in the event the U.S. attacks Cuba and to join the No War on Cuba campaign. Organization can join the National Network on Cuba at their annual meeting in Portland, November 20-22 to help build an anti-imperialist Cuba-solidarity movement inside the belly of the beast. You can also see the conditions in Cuba for yourself by visiting the island with a legally licensed solidarity delegation, like the Venceremos Brigade.

“We have to tell our brothers, sisters, and siblings throughout the country what is truly going on, not only in Cuba, but throughout Latin America and the American continent,” said Alderman Sigcho-Lopez.

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