Fifty U.S. congressional members, including senators and representatives, sent a letter in Washington to President Donald Trump condemning the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed against Cuba and requesting a change in policy toward the island, reported Lianys Torre Rivera, head of the Cuban mission in the United States, on her Facebook profile.
The letter was spearheaded by Gregory Meeks, minority leader of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Tim Kaine, minority leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
The lawmakers pointed out that pressure tactics have failed for more than six decades and that their current application exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in Cuba by restricting access to energy and medical care.
The letter warned that blackouts, shortages of basic goods, and the collapse of critical infrastructure severely affect the population, especially children, the elderly, and patients with chronic illnesses.
The members of Congress warned that the lack of fuel prevents hospitals from functioning and puts patients’ lives at risk, and therefore urged the president to immediately reverse these policies.
In the document, the signatories recalled Trump’s recent statements about Cuba and rejected any attempt to illegally employ the U.S. military to overthrow the Cuban government, which, they asserted, would cost lives and resources without changing the political conditions.
The members of Congress emphasized that persisting with failed strategies, limiting access to energy and medical care, is contrary to the values of the American people.
They emphasized that by triggering an accelerated energy collapse, the administration shifted the responsibility for Cuba’s suffering directly onto the United States.
The legislators stated that the only way to support the Cuban people is through policies that empower them and do not use them as a tool of pressure, and they highlighted Havana’s willingness to cooperate on issues of migration and drug trafficking.
Finally, the congressional representatives expressed their willingness to work with the U.S. administration to modify the current sanctions regime, which has been in place for three decades and has been aggravated, describing it as obsolete and draconian.
IMAGE CREDIT: ACN | Taken from Lianys Torre’s Facebook profile
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
