The Hague, May, 8, 2020. The Embassy of Cuba in the Kingdom of the Netherlands expresses its gratitude to the Newspaper "Manifest" of the New Communist Party of the Netherlands for the publication of the Article that answers the question: How a small country like Cuba can faces the COVID19 Pandemic, the genocidal blockade imposed by United States and at the same time can extends its solidarity aid sending medical brigades to needed nations?
The Article recognizes that:
In the current circumstances of global health emergency, Cuba, a small island in the Caribbean Sea of 11 million of peoples, faces the COVID19 pandemic under the enormous limitations imposed by 60 years of cruel blockade imposed by successive US administrations.
The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States of America against Cuba is the most unfair, severe and prolonged system of unilateral sanctions ever applied against any country. The tightening the blockade has continued to be the central pivot of US government policy towards Cuba, with ever more notable effects in its extraterritorial application. No citizen or sector of the economy escapes the negative effects of this unilateral policy.
The government of United States intensifies its aggression against Cuba even in these difficult times of coronavirus, and hinders with its sanctions that donations of medical supplies arrive on the island, such as the donation of masks, fans and tests to detect the coronavirus that the Chinese electronic giant Alibaba would send to the Island and United States frustrated with the threat of its sanctions last March.
Another recent example of the criminal application of the United States blockade against Cuba was this month when several suppliers informed MEDICUBA Company that they could not deliver contracted pulmonary ventilators because IMT MEDICAL AG and ACUTRONIC manufacturers had been purchased by Vyaire Medical Inc, a company based in Illinois, USA and the blockade prevents them from doing so. U.S. Company buys key lung ventilator manufacturing firms for COVID19 and suspends sales to Cuba. These devices are key elements in the care of serious and critical cases of coronavirus.
There is no doubt that the blockade against Cuba is a genocidal and extermination act, and it is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of all Cuban. These unilateral sanctions have no ethical or legal justification.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba affirmed last 24 of March: “This moment calls for everyone to set aside political differences so we can all focus on dealing with the emergency and its serious consequences in the near future...The quick spreading of the disease demands that we unite our wills to develop joint cooperative actions that will make it possible to cope with COVID19...Despite this difficult situation, Cuba can modestly offer some cooperation…”
Despite its scarce material resources, precisely in these harsh circumstances of the global crisis, Cuba extends its solidarity aid to nations in need in the confrontation with COVID19, and sends more than 20 medical brigades around the world to contribute to saving lives.
These are not times to impose sanctions; these are times to demand an immediate end to imperialist blockades. These are times of cooperation and solidarity.
The example of Cuba, the socialist island, deserves respect and admiration.