The first shipment of the European solidarity aid convoy arrived on Wednesday at José Martí International Airport in Havana, aboard a flight operated by Italian airline Neos.

The cargo represents a cooperative effort by the European Convoy "Let Cuba Breathe," to which numerous solidarity groups, as well as social, labor union, and political organizations from Italy, Switzerland, England, Austria, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, France, Greece, Algeria, Iceland, Scotland, and Spain contributed.

The donation consists of five metric tons of medical equipment, supplies, and medicines for Cuba's public health system, as well as equipment for renewable energy sources.

Speaking to the press at the airport terminal, Italian Member of the European Parliament Ilaria Salís stated that the shipment represents a contribution from institutions and the people of those nations to Cuba, a country subjected to what she described as the United States' "criminal, illegal, genocidal, and internationally unlawful" economic, commercial, and financial blockade.

"This is not the solution, but it is a sincere and friendly contribution to the Cuban people," Salís emphasized.

For his part, Italian MEP Domenico Lucano noted that Cuba stands firm against the most powerful nation in the world without yielding, and argued that this collaboration with the Cuban people is also "a way of saying no to the North American blockade."

Lucano expressed his admiration for Cuba, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and revolutionary icon Ernesto Che Guevara.

Rigoberto Zarza, Director of European Affairs at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, received the representatives of the solidarity organizations and the donated cargo at José Martí International Airport. (CubaSí)