The Union of Base Unions (USB), a major Italian trade union, denounced the blocking of funds destined for the “One Medicine for Cuba” campaign by a payment platform in Italy, according to a report released on Tuesday.
A statement published on the official website of the Italian union indicates that “in recent days, we have verified that the PayPal money transfer system is blocking funds from private citizens sending money” in support of this initiative, launched on March 5.
“Our union was asked why we were using the PayPal system for actions related to Cuba,” the USB statement notes.
The mere mention of the word “Cuba” triggers this restriction, as an expression in this country of the extraterritorial application of the criminal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed for more than sixty years by the United States against the island, and intensified in recent months by the administration of President Donald Trump.
“With a measure by Trump, since January 29, the oppression of the Cuban people has worsened even further, and the shortages of oil, medicine, and food on the island are increasing,” and “it is unacceptable that even acts of solidarity and the sending of funds for humanitarian aid are blocked by the U.S. authorities,” the statement points out.
In calling for this new initiative, the union expressed that “what the Trump administration is imposing on Cuba is not a blockade, it is an act of war against an entire people,” and it is “a cowardly war, waged not with bombs, but with hunger, darkness, and siege.” This, it is stated, is a genocidal act “against a people who for more than sixty years have built a model of society that has challenged capitalism, demonstrating that it is possible to guarantee social rights and employment for all, and free access to healthcare and education.”
“Cuba has trained doctors for the entire world, bringing public healthcare to places where the market has only brought poverty,” and “this is what imperialism cannot forgive: having demonstrated that an alternative exists, that the health of a people can take precedence over the profits of a few.”
USB also notes that the United States has increased pressure on all countries receiving medical care from Cuban personnel, demanding that they expel Cuban healthcare workers, and cites the case of the Italian region of Calabria, whose people and government recently rejected such maneuvers.
The group reaffirms that, despite the obstacles it faces, it is “strongly relaunching this campaign of solidarity with Cuba,” and calls on “all political forces, media outlets, and social organizations to denounce the criminal and genocidal conduct of the United States,” the source adds.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
