The protests in Cuba bear the fingerprints of the United States!
Statement from the Cuba Association in Norway
The protests in Cuba on Sunday July 11 bear the fingerprints of the United States!
On Sunday, July 11, Cuba experienced demonstrations and protests due to a great shortage of food, medicine and energy supply, which has resulted in vandalism and theft in various parts of the country.
The precarious situation that has emerged is first and foremost a direct result of the long-standing and still ongoing US blockade. The Trump administration imposed another 243 sanctions. In addition, there is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that Cuba has been wrongly included in the United States' horrific list of "States sponsoring terrorism" and "States that do not do enough to combat human trafficking".
Politicians and groups in the United States are now trying to manipulate the situation with right-wing attitudes, in favor of the blockade and regime change. They have called for the creation of a so-called "humanitarian corridor" (a pretext for the United States' intervention).
Anyone genuinely interested in helping the Cuban people should ask the US government and Congress to immediately ease the devastating sanctions and end the blockade. An inhuman blockade that kills Cubans and strangles an entire nation.
It was not accidental or spontaneous that the protests and demonstrations took place in a large number of cities almost simultaneously. This is revealed, among other things, by the fact that the largest demonstration against the Cuban government took place in Miami. The small simultaneous and subsequent demonstrations in various cities in Europe are also a clear sign that the protests inside and outside of Cuba were carefully planned and coordinated.
We know that each year the United States government officially allocates more than $20 million, with the goal of creating a system change in Cuba. We recognize the attempt to destabilize Cuba, as it has been with similar processes in Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Honduras, only in the new century, as well as in many countries outside of Latin America.
Living conditions in Cuba have deteriorated, which has caused some anger and frustration in people. With the COVID-19 lockdown and pandemic, food shortages and power outages, everyday life is tough. This situation is now being taken advantage of by the political forces in Cuba and outside of Cuba, who are constantly working for a change in the system.
But Cuba has a long and solid tradition of public debate and participation in solving the country's problems. Therefore, there is also a broad view of the causes of current problems.
The enemies of Cuba reveal themselves with a vulgar hypocrisy, in front of which only the agents paid in Cuba can close their eyes. US politicians such as Senator Marco Rubio, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar and Undersecretary of State Julie Chung show false empathy for the difficulties and hardships of the Cuban people. No person can be fooled by their hypocrisy when it is known that they are precisely the ones behind the suffering.
If there was even the slightest hint of honesty among these politicians in the United States, then of course they would work to lift the blockade. But on the contrary, they fully support it. A blockade that costs Cuba more than $ 5 billion a year in increased expenses and lost income.
The Cuba Association in Norway, demands that the minister of foreign affairs intervene and condemn the way the United States is handling the crisis, demands that the United States immediately ease sanctions and end its 60-year blockade.
Cuba is not alone!
The Cuba Association in Norway
07/14/2021