Havana, 29 April 2020. FarmaCuba, a Cuban pharmaceutical company, reported that in March a shipping company returned two containers of raw materials to the port of origin despite they were already in Havana, as they were warned they would be sanctioned.
Neyra Muguercia, Director General of FarmaCuba explained that this resulted in the loss of a 30-day crossing, the same period for the return, and new arrangements by the parties involved to ship the raw materials with another shipping company that took 30 more days.
She stated that in the past a supplier was paid more than 1 million dollars for the purchase of raw materials. When the containers were ready, the intermediary bank returned the funds under pretext that it could not transfer the money because it would be sanctioned under the regulations of the US blockade imposed against Cuba. She added that this time the supplier could not unload the shipment and they had to find another bank routing, which leads to the loss of capacities and shortage of supplies.
All these damages to the pharmaceutical industry in Cuba due to the blockade laws and its extraterritorial nature are translated into expenses and lack of availability of products for patients in hospitals, community pharmacy, as well as the increase of the cost of the commercial operations involved. This also puts at risk the lives of people in need of medications.
Muguercia expressed that the actions of the United States against Cuba are increasingly aggressive, pursuing all the operations of the island. FarmaCuba is often forced to import from a second, third or even a fourth country for fear of suppliers being penalized.
In times when what we need is solidarity, cooperation, the utmost effort of countries and to put aside political differences in order to combat the pandemic, the Government of the United States tightens the blockade against Cuba, limiting the island´s capacity for action against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations