It’s been seven months since labor activist Chris Smalls was detained and beaten by Israeli authorities after he sailed to Gaza on a flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid. Now, he plans to go to Cuba.
Smalls is planning to sail with the collective, now called Nuestra América Convoy, on March 21 to the island on another humanitarian mission. The organization said on its website that it changed from a flotilla to a convoy because it is now “opening the mission to delegations from across the world,” and it is asking for communities around the world to come together in Havana on that date with food, medicine, and energy supplies.
“We must put an end to inhumane Blockade which has been in effect for over 60 plus years please show love and solidarity with the country who protected our beloved Assata from the tyranny of US imperialism until her last days slide right get involved now,” Smalls said in a post on social media. He referenced Assata Shakur, the Black revolutionary who escaped prison in the U.S. and fled the country in 1984 while being pursued by the FBI, and lived out the rest of her life in Cuba until she died last September.
Then Trump administration intensified the United States’ embargo on Cuba after President Trump signed an executive order in January, threatening countries that provide oil to Cuba with tariffs, thus creating what many call a blockade on the country that the United Nations has declared a violation of international law. Without oil coming into Cuba, people on the island are running out of fuel for their vehicles, planes, hospitals, homes, food, and more.
The labor activist gained notoriety for founding Amazon’s first-ever union with his friend and coworker, Derrick Palmer, in its Staten Island warehouse, despite major resistance from the corporate giant. He and Palmer were named some of TIME’s most influential people in 2022.
Last July, Smalls headed to Gaza with the flotilla, and the group was detained upon arrival. Smalls, the only Black person on the mission, was reportedly singled out and beaten. He said in an interview when he arrived back in the States that the soldiers used his hair, which is styled in locs, and his gold chains to choke him. Despite this, he said he was determined to continue his missions to Palestine.
Now, Smalls says that his efforts are needed in Cuba.
“The United States does not get to decide the future of the Caribbean—or any other nation. And the Cuban people will not face this siege alone.”
