The State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MESC) has denounced in a statement the blocking of containers and increased freight costs for donations destined for Cuba.
According to Prensa Latina, which obtained the statement, the MESC specifically referred to two containers of humanitarian aid, one from the Catalan solidarity coordinator Defensem Cuba and the other from the NGO Sodepaz.
In this regard, the MESC denounced the unjustified withholding of two shipments of aid destined for Cuba, sent from Catalonia and Madrid, by decision of two international shipping companies, fearful of sanctions from the United States government.
Both shipments have been blocked for more than two weeks in Caribbean ports, preventing their arrival in Santiago de Cuba, the source specified.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Culture and Sport (MESC) also detailed that one of the containers holds mattresses and other essential goods destined for those affected by Hurricane Melissa in eastern Cuba.
The other carries 3.5 million syringes and hypodermic needles for the public health system in Santiago de Cuba.
“The organizations responsible for the shipment are working to secure the immediate release of both containers and are studying appropriate legal action in light of the serious damage caused,” the Ministry reported.
In the statement, MESC emphasized that this is not an isolated incident. “It adds to the growing difficulties Cuba faces in receiving essential goods,” it noted.
According to data recently released by Cuban authorities, approximately 7,000 shipments of medicine, medical equipment, food, and other supplies remain stranded in Caribbean ports, affected by the restrictions stemming from the White House embargo.
In another part of its statement, the Ministry of Economy and Social Cooperation (MESC) explained that the actions of certain shipping companies “demonstrate their collaboration with the extraterritorial application of the blockade, despite the fact that European Union legislation itself includes mechanisms to protect European companies from US sanctions.”
As a result, many shipments are being diverted to third countries, increasing transit times and freight costs, with a direct impact on Cuba’s supply, it added.
“The MESC denounces that these measures even affect humanitarian aid and essential medical supplies, directly harming the Cuban population. The blockade not only aims to strangle the country’s economy but also to obstruct international solidarity among nations,” it concluded.
Ana Ruiz Alonso, a Catalan activist with Defensem Cuba, expressed her surprise upon learning two weeks ago that the container she had sent, along with hundreds of others, had been abandoned in the port of Kingston, Jamaica.
The only way to resolve the issue is to return it—in our case, to Barcelona—to unload it, return the container, and start from scratch, at an additional cost of 20,000 euros, Ruiz Alonso stated.
The same applies to Sodepaz’s shipment of three and a half million syringes intended for humanitarian aid to the Santiago de Cuba area, he added.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
