United Nations - Cuba''s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ana Silvia Rodríguez, reiterated her country''s support for the end of the colonial status of Puerto Rico, a Caribbean nation subject to five centuries of foreign domination.

'The Puerto Rican people will invariably count on our solidarity. Cuba will continue to defend its legitimate right to self-determination and independence,' she told Prensa Latina, a day after the UN Special Committee on Decolonization approved a new resolution ratifying that prerogative.

The diplomat recalled that on July 25 it will be 119 years of the United States intervention in Puerto Rico.

However, so many years of colonial rule have not been enough to snatch the culture, identity, and national sentiments from Puerto Ricans, demonstrating their unwavering vocation for independence, he said.

Rodríguez presented yesterday the draft resolution then adopted by consensus in the Special Committee, a body of 29 member states created in 1961 to promote an end to the scourge of colonialism on the planet.

According to the ambassador, this initiative, co-sponsored by Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Russia, and Syria, adds 36 to those approved by the Committee in support of self-determination in Puerto Rico.

The text urges Washington to assume its responsibility and allow the Puerto Rican people to fully exercise their right to independence, insists on the Latin American and Caribbean character of Puerto Rico and reflects concern for the Fiscal Supervision Board activated by the US Congress in response to the crisis on the island, marked by a debt of 72 billion dollars.

The resolution also calls on the UN General Assembly to examine the Puerto Rican question comprehensively and in all aspects and to pronounce on it as soon as possible.

It also celebrates the release of independent fighter Oscar López Rivera, who served more than 35 years in US prisons.