HAVANA, Cuba.- The Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, said on Sunday that the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, “has always fought for poor, for those who do not have a voice.”

Speaking to the heads of state and government who participated in the 11th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas (ALBA) —held over the weekend in Caracas, Venezuela—, Skerrit regarded Fidel Castro as their mentor and added that Dominica will continue to be a partner of ALBA and an advocate of Cuba’s struggle against Washington’s 50-year-old economic blockade.

“The blockade is not only a measure against Cuba but against us all,” Skerrit noted.

During the meeting, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez praised the economic potential of several Caribbean nations such as Dominica —with its coffee production— and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines —with their tourist industry, and agricultural and fishing production.

He also referred to the bloc’s decision to maintain Haiti as a permanent guest of their meetings and to have Saint Lucia and Suriname as special guests-members.

For his part, Bolivian president Evo Morales recalled that ALBA is a new regional mechanism for integration like the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).