According to Consequence.net, Kneecap touched down in Cuba on March 21st, as part of the Nuestra América Convoy, which arrived on the island with critical supplies including medicine, water, food and solar panels. The band also delivered live performance in Havana, while leading chants of “¡Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!,” which translates to “Cuba, yes! Blockade no!” Part of their show was captured on video by Ireland’s Virgin Media News, which also spoke with Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (aka Mo Chara), who is Kneecap’s most vocal member” “[I’m here] to continue that long line of Irish and Cuban solidarity,” the rapper said, adding that he isn’t addressing Trump directly because he doesn’t believe the US President “listens to reason.”
“So, my message is to the Cuban people rather than to Trump,” he continued. “We hope you understand that the Irish people, we see you, we hear you, and we support you. For as long as Cuba calls, Ireland will answer.” Fellow Kneecap member Naoise Ó Cairealláin (aka Móglaí Bap) added: “A collective punishment isn’t fair. Punishing a whole country like the way they do it in Palestine… I don’t think that’s right.”
Speaking to the Irish public broadcaster RTÉ, Mo Chara stated that Kneecap’s Irish background would not allow them to “watch these things happen internationally or domestically and stay silent. We see the island of Cuba being strangled. It’s important that people who have a platform like us, who reach maybe a certain number of audiences… that we use that platform for what’s right and what’s good.”
The Nuestra América Convoy arrived in Cuba in response to the humanitarian crisis following the Trump administration’s capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, which allowed the U.S. to seize control of the Venezuelan oil industry and cut the island off from its primary source of fuel. This allowed the U.S. to implement a fuel blockade in an attempt to force a collapse of the Cuban government by choking off its energy supply. The action has directly impacted citizens at the ground level, with three nationwide blackouts this month, including one on March 21.
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