New York, October 22, 2024 - A letter to President Biden was published today in the New York Times, urging him to reverse Trump's harsh policy toward Cuba during his final 90 days in office, as Cuba simultaneously endures a severe energy crisis and a hurricane.
Despite calls to return to President Obama's normalization efforts, Biden has maintained Trump's strict measures, including 243 additional sanctions and the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. These policies have inflicted more than $164 billion in damages on Cuba over the past six decades, with more than $5 billion in losses reported in the past year alone (March 2023-February 2024).
The current nationwide blackout in Cuba, blamed on restrictions on fuel and spare parts purchases resulting from US sanctions, makes the situation for the Cuban people even more dire – the letter stresses that this policy harms the Cuban people, not just the government.
The letter states: “With only 90 days remaining in your term, you can lift these harmful measures. Removing the terrorism designation would allow Cuba to restore its electrical grid and address critical shortages of food and medicine… This blackout underscores the American legacy of suffering in Cuba.
It is not too late to change this reality with a simple signature. Let Cuba live.”
The letter’s demand is supported by a growing chorus of international leaders and consistent UN General Assembly resolutions calling for removing the
State Sponsor of Terrorism designation and for an end to the US embargo on
Cuba. The UN is scheduled to hold its annual vote on the resolution to lift the embargo next week.
(Cubaminrex-The People's Forum)