They are fighting a monster; that is why they brought with them I don’t know how many boxes of food, medicine, personal hygiene products, and more than 70 solar panels.

This Tuesday, the tuna boat “Maguro” docked in the port of Havana with more than 30 tons of solidarity aid.

The vessel, the flagship of the “Nuestra América” Solidarity Convoy, was christened by its own crew as Granma 2.0, in honor of the expedition members of the yacht that 70 years ago also set sail from Mexico, under the motto “free or martyrs.”

Hoping for weather conditions similar to those of that time, Granma 2.0 set sail from the port of Progreso, in Yucatán, on March 20. And, due to “malfunctions” in the electrical system, a journey that should have ended the next day took four nights and five days.

Amid that uncertainty, Aleksa Vulovic, aboard the ship, would say, “We’ll arrive tomorrow,” and if they didn’t arrive tomorrow, she would repeat it.

There are 32 “expedition members.” A number with too much symbolism, a number of the soul. They are fighting a monster; that is why they brought with them, I don’t know how many, boxes of food, medicine, personal hygiene products, and more than 70 solar panels, destined for Cuban health institutions.

Upon arrival, Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila said, “Much more than you should thank us, we, and all the free peoples of the world must thank Cuba. Before our ship set sail from Mexico, we said: ‘This is an act of historical reciprocity because Cuba is the most supportive country and people on the entire planet.’”

“It is the country that sent medical brigades to every corner of the world; the country whose doctors were the first to go fight Ebola in Africa and COVID in Italy; the country that went to provide support when the earthquake struck in Haiti or in Chile; the country that treated 26,000 children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster; the country that supported liberation struggles throughout the Global South; the country that sent thousands of people to fight in Africa against apartheid troops… So, the world owes a great deal to Cuba, and now is the time to repay that solidarity.”

Daniel Herbert, another crew member of the tuna vessel, told Granma that the United States engages in “heavy political propaganda” in his country—Australia—to discredit the Cuban government and shape public perception to suit its ideological interests, which run counter to every principle of the Revolution.

“We don’t have a wide variety of media outlets, and some are owned by Americans, which is why we hear the same message about Cuba every day. You only have to travel outside our island to see that this isn’t the case. I’ve traveled to many other countries, and it’s obvious that those messages are fabricated out of thin air. They’re wrong,” he added.

People from some 11 nations came to Granma 2.0 to alleviate the crisis Cuba faces today, amid an international landscape rife with manipulation, imbalance, and wolves who no longer even bother to disguise themselves as sheep.

The world wanders through these labyrinths, trying to find a way out. “Surely the task of defeating the cruelest, most dangerous, and most destructive system in the world is difficult, but—as Thiago concluded—we will succeed because what this boat demonstrates is that solidarity cannot be blocked. The free peoples of the world have far more strength than any empire.” (Granma)