Guyana, July 28, 2022. Cuba marked the anniversary of Fidel Castro’s first armed uprising 69 years ago on Monday with renewed calls for an end to the US embargo since the blockade has deeply affected the nation’s fortunes.
According to President of the Guyana-Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM), Halim Khan for some, such posturing recalls the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis between the United States and the former Soviet Union, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear warfare and was a major motivation for the blockade against Cuba.
And although the Cold War is over, Khan said it is the United States “geopolitical interests” that determine its stance towards Cuba
He said US domestic politics also play a role, with the vote of a large and vocal anti-Havana Cuban ex-pat community holding the potential to swing battleground states such as Florida.
After maintaining the policy of his predecessor Donald Trump for more than a year, Khan noted that Biden and his administration announced several measures aimed at Cuba in May, such as the elimination of limits on remittances, the reauthorization of so-called group trips, and the family reunification program, and the re-establishment of regular and charter flights to airports outside of Havana.
However, the GSCM President noted that the Cuban authorities and solidarity organizations consider these announcements “insufficient” because they maintain in force most of the sanctions and restrictions established by the embargo.
Khan highlighted that “Cuba was able to vaccinate virtually the entire population without having to worry about access to foreign vaccines while most of the Third World is not yet vaccinated because the vaccines are all produced in the developed countries,”.
Additionally, Khan noted that the Biden administration had made a poor decision against inviting the governments of Cuba to the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas.
“Far from signalling a willingness to partner with regional countries to tackle common issues, Washington seems to take advantage of the summit to restore its waning influence and tighten its grip over Latin American nations, which are increasingly wary of U.S. self-interest,” Khan noted.