FIDEL CASTRO’S grandson told the opening plenary of London’s annual Latin American conference on Saturday that his revolutionary relative’s spirit is still guiding Cubans and their friends against US aggression.

Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, a nuclear physicist and scientific adviser to the Cuban government, shared a platform with Jeremy Corbyn MP, Venezuelan embassy official Wilfredo Hernandez, peace campaigner Kate Hudson, NEU deputy general secretary Sarah Kilpatrick, Colombian human rights lawyer Diego Martinez and Bernard Regan of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.

Ahead of 18 workshops, spread throughout the day, Ms Hudson told the conference that the US’s escalating aggression in the region meant that it has never been more important to build the anti-war movement and show that “another world is possible.”

Mr Hernandez demanded the release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, who were kidnapped during the US’s deadly assault on his country on January 3. He said the priority for Venezuela was to “preserve its sovereignty and peace.”

Ms Kilpatrick also condemned the kidnapping, labelling the attack “a blatant breach of international law.”

Mr Corbyn said it was time to speak up for an independent foreign policy in Britain “that doesn’t rely on profiteering corporations.”

Professor Castro Smirnov also warned the conference that Cuba is facing unprecedented danger. He said: “We see [US President] Donald Trump and [US Secretary of State] Marco Rubio obsessed with destroying my country.”

Mr Trump’s latest executive order to increase tariffs on any country that ships oil to Cuba “escalates this aggression to levels never seen before,” he said.

Prof Castro Smirnov said the attack on Venezuela, during which 32 Cubans were killed, proves that “we are living in the age of naked force.”

Mr Trump was offering Cuba a deal that amounts to: “Give up your dignity, kneel in front of me and I will turn the lights back on.”

“This is not diplomacy,” he said. “This is a slave auction.”

He added that during the year of the centenary of the birth of Fidel, he recalled a simple truth taught by his grandfather: “No force is stronger than people standing together.”

“So today, we do not ask for sympathy,” he said. “We ask you to walk beside us.

“When they try to crush us with blockades, help us hold the line. When they try to silence us, please be our voice. When they try to isolate us, be the bridge.”