Recently, a video of Cuban veterans singing a classic Chinese revolutionary song went viral on domestic social media, moving countless netizens. "Hold the gun tight, keep the vision clear, whoever dares to start a war, we'll strike them without mercy!" On the day of the Lantern Festival, more than ten distinguished retired Cuban pilots, who had studied in China, along with their families, were invited to celebrate the occasion at the Chinese Embassy in Cuba. During the event, the Cuban veterans reminisced about their glorious past and once again sang this well-known Chinese military anthem, years later.

Many netizens were pleasantly surprised to discover that among them was the elderly pilot, Alberto Sanhuan (nickname: ), whom they had previously encountered on the streets of Trinidad, a small town in Cuba. Today, let’s delve into the story behind this 90-year-old man and get closer to the country that the Chinese people refer to as a "good friend, good comrade, and good brother."

The Chinese Connection of a Cuban Elderly Man. Not long ago, a travel blogger encountered a white-haired elderly man while traveling in Cuba. The man didn’t understand Chinese but kept shouting in broken Spanish. Out of curiosity, the blogger struck up a conversation with him and learned that the man, named Sang Huan, was a decorated Cuban Air Force pilot who had once trained in China.

Certificate of training for Elder Sang Huan (left) and current photo (right). The elderly man has a bare home. According to the blogger who visited Elder Sang Huan, the old man lives alone in a small house in the town of Trinidad, Cuba. The room contains only a single bed, a small green alarm clock, four pairs of shoes, and a family photo hanging on the wall—truly deserving of the description "bare home."

Although the elderly Sang Huan suffers from illness and is in poor health, he immediately becomes animated whenever he talks about his experiences—training in China, defending Cuban airspace, and participating in international aid missions in Angola. His greatest wish is to set foot once more on that Eastern land that has captured his heart and soul.

A Time of Turmoil. To recount the bond between Elder Sang Huan and China, we must go back to the early days of the Cuban socialist regime. In January, the Cuban revolutionary army led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara entered Havana, forcing dictator Batista into exile in the United States, and the "Cuban Revolution" was declared victorious. This was originally a great struggle of the Cuban people for freedom and independence, but it drew hostility from the U.S. government.

百废待兴的古巴不仅面临着以美国为首的西方阵营联手封锁和强力干涉，更面临着美国国际开发署等机构长期资助策划的颠覆活动（另见本号文章《The institutions that subvert other countries are about to be "subverted"!》）

In the same year, with U.S. backing, a large group of so-called "Cuban exiles" launched the Bay of Pigs invasion in an attempt to overthrow the newly established socialist government. The Cuban military and civilians fought valiantly and ultimately repelled the invaders. The task of defending the nascent regime fell upon Fidel Castro. At this critical moment, China, also part of the socialist camp, extended its support.

The youth crossing the oceans. In [specific year/month], after rigorous selection, a group of Cuban youths with an average age of less than [specific age] traveled across the oceans to enter the 12th Aviation School of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. There, they learned aircraft piloting and ground maintenance techniques under the guidance of Chinese instructors.

In the year when the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted, the sanctions and suppression by the US and Western countries against Cuba continued to escalate, and the threat of invasion faced by the nascent regime grew increasingly severe. In the month and year shortly after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cuban revolutionary government was forced to urgently withdraw all its flight trainees from China. These "young eagles," who had completed their training in China, thus shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending Cuba's airspace, forging an "iron wall" to safeguard Cuban skies.

Group photo of Cuban pilots receiving training in China. The struggling "fertile land." Apart from the touching connection between the elderly Sang Huan and China, what has also drawn widespread attention from netizens is his current difficult situation. The fact that a retired senior pilot is living in such hardship reflects the broader struggles faced by Cuba as a nation.

A Fertile Land, a Pearl Covered in Dust. Cuba is hailed as the "Pearl of the Caribbean," with its name derived from the Taíno language, meaning "fertile land" or "good place." Agriculture, mining, sugar production, tourism, and healthcare services are key pillars of Cuba's economy. Among these, Cuban cigars and rum have gained worldwide fame for their superior quality and unique flavors, becoming an important calling card for Cuba's international relations.

Yet this fertile land, which should have been prosperous, has been plagued by severe food shortages, impoverished living conditions, and an economy on the verge of collapse due to decades of relentless sanctions and blockades imposed by Western nations led by the United States.

Scarce supplies and dire living conditions—U.S. sanctions have left no aspect of Cuban life untouched, from fuel and food to daily necessities and medicine. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, these sanctions exacerbated hardships, severely hindering improvements in Cuba's economy and people's livelihoods. The lack of food and medicine has plunged countless Cubans into the depths of despair.

Due to U.S. trade sanctions, Cuba struggles to obtain pesticides and fertilizers essential for modern agriculture, severely constraining agricultural production. Despite possessing vast and fertile land, the country still finds it difficult to achieve full food self-sufficiency. As a result, the output of Cuba's major food crops and agricultural products has seen a significant decline for many consecutive years, failing to meet domestic demand. Nearly % of its food relies on imports from overseas.

At the beginning of the year, Cuba faced a food crisis, with only 10,000 hectares of rice sown and a total rice production of less than 10,000 tons. Many people couldn't even meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and daily necessities, barely getting by on humanitarian aid.

Power shortages, industrial stagnation. For a long time, Cuba has faced a severe power shortage crisis, with frequent "nationwide blackouts" in recent years, severely affecting people's lives, industrial production, and economic development. Cuba's energy structure has obvious shortcomings, with power generation equipment highly dependent on imported fuel.

Under U.S. blockade sanctions, Cuba struggles to import sufficient fuel, forcing many distributed power plants to shut down. Additionally, due to the U.S. embargo on equipment, most of Cuba's power generation units are severely outdated and poorly maintained, with a large number of them operating well beyond their intended lifespan. This leads to frequent equipment failures, further exacerbating the electricity shortage.

Economic decline and industrial damage. According to statistics from the Cuban government, since the year, the U.S. economic blockade on Cuba has caused direct economic losses amounting to billions of dollars, with indirect economic losses potentially reaching trillions. As a result, Cuba's economy is facing crises such as high domestic inflation, insufficient foreign exchange earnings, and mounting international debt, making economic recovery extremely challenging.

During his first term, Trump implemented a series of sanctions that precisely targeted Cuba's key sources of foreign exchange, such as tourism, medical services, raw sugar manufacturing, and remittances, causing significant economic damage.

Cuban citizens gathered to protest in front of the Capitol Hill. Prolonged blockade sanctions. For a long time, the United States has regarded Latin America as its "backyard," not allowing regional countries to freely choose their political systems and development paths. Since the victory of the Cuban Revolution, the U.S. has viewed Cuba as a "thorn in its side" and an "irritant," determined to eliminate it at all costs.

Political suppression and subversion of the regime. In [specific month and year], the United States announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Cuba and suspended Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States, effectively excluding Cuba from regional affairs in the Americas. Over the years, the U.S. government has invested substantial funds to cultivate opposition forces in an attempt to undermine and overthrow the Cuban government from within.

A report released by the Cuban government in [specific month and year] revealed that since the victory of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban government has faced up to [specific number] instances of U.S. "subversive actions," resulting in the deaths of [specific number] Cuban citizens. According to statistics, the CIA attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro hundreds of times. (Note: The original text contains placeholders like "年月" and "次" which should be replaced with specific numbers or dates for a complete translation. The above translation assumes these placeholders would be filled with actual data.)

Legal restrictions and long-arm jurisdiction. After the Cold War, the United States intensified its efforts by successively enacting a series of sanctions laws, such as the "Cuban Democracy Act" and the "Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act." These measures aimed to restrict Cuba's normal economic activities and, in doing so, impose "long-arm jurisdiction" on foreign companies and individuals engaged in economic exchanges with Cuba.

During the Reagan administration, the U.S. government placed Cuba on its "State Sponsors of Terrorism" list to restrict the country's access to international financial support and trade opportunities. Although the U.S. removed Cuba from the list before Biden left office, Trump reinstated it immediately upon taking power. The driving force behind this was Cuban-American Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Over the years, Rubio has pushed for numerous sanctions against Cuba, severely impacting the country's economic and social development.

Economic Blockade and Trade Sanctions. In 1962, the United States unilaterally halted trade with Cuba and enacted the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, initiating an economic and financial blockade along with a trade embargo against Cuba. Starting from 1992, the U.S. escalated its sanctions against Cuba by introducing the Torricelli Act and the Helms-Burton Act, which prohibited companies from third countries from engaging in trade with Cuba and barred international financial institutions from providing loans to Cuba.

In [specific month and year], the [ordinal number] United Nations General Assembly once again overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that the United States end its economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba. Although this marked the [number] consecutive year the UN General Assembly adopted such a resolution with an overwhelming majority, the United States has turned a deaf ear to the international community’s call for justice and stubbornly continued its blockade and sanctions against Cuba. Clearly, the U.S. acts of hegemony, high-handedness, and bullying are unpopular and have drawn dissatisfaction and opposition from the majority of countries in the world. *(Note: The brackets "[specific month and year]" and "[ordinal number]" are placeholders for the actual date and session number, which were missing in the original text. Similarly, "[number]" should be replaced with the correct figure indicating how many consecutive years the resolution has been passed.)*

If one were to describe the tragedy of Cuba in a single sentence, it would undoubtedly be: "Too far from heaven, too close to the United States." The images in the article are sourced from the internet.