#UnblockCuba

Parliament, Tuesday, 8 February 2022 – The 7th of February marked 60 years since the United States (US) has enforced its unilateral economic embargo against Cuba and which severely restricts the flow of goods to the island.

The extraterritorial laws of the US punish foreign companies that do business with Cuba. The United Nations General Assembly has consistently passed a resolution every year since 1992, demanding the end of the US economic embargo against Cuba.

Declaration by the revolutionary government

The revolutionary government condemns the continuance for over 60 years of the economic, commercial and financial sanctions formally imposed by the United States on 3rd February 1962. On that date, the then president, John F. Kennedy, issued Proclamation 3447, “Embargo on All Trade with Cuba” under Section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. He thereby conferred official status on the unilateral economic hostilities already in effect against Cuba since our country’s revolutionary victory.

This morning, February 3, 2022, within the framework of the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of Proclamation 3447, which formalized the blockade of the United States government against Cuba, the Amphitheater of the Convention Center "Enrique José Varona" was the venue of a conversation between colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) and students and professors from the University of Havana (UH).

Breakthrough News was on the ground in Havana, Cuba where Rania Khalek spoke with Johana Tablada, General Deputy Director of US affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

They discussed the US blockade hampering the country’s development, how socialism makes Cuba’s survival possible, why Cuba has such a strong anti-imperialist foreign policy, how Cuba sees the recent left victories across Latin America, Cuba’s vaccine leadership, “Havana Syndrome,” how Cuba’s medical brigades connect to an internationalist foreign policy, its growing relationships with Iran & China, and more.