Washington, March 4.- More than 140 organizations and individuals from Maryland have signed an open letter to the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate to end the blockade of Cuba.
The letter, addressed to the Democratic senator for that state Ben Cardín, current president of the influential committee, urges him to work for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade and advance "in the normalization of relations between our two countries."
The signatories recalled that the blockade has been in force for more than 60 years "and in that time, its main effect has been the massive suffering of the Cuban people."
“By its very nature, the embargo (blockade) hinders the economic development of Cuba and affects the entire population” with a cost of 159 billion dollars since its imposition, according to data from the Government of Cuba, the text stressed.
He noted that the effects of this extraterritorial coercive measure “are felt in all aspects of daily life, particularly in vulnerable communities.”
The blockade - the document emphasized - “hinders access to essential goods such as food, water and medicine; worsens food insecurity and malnutrition; contributes to fuel and energy shortages; reduces access to agricultural and industrial inputs; “It erodes basic public goods such as health and education.”
Ultimately, this hostile policy “violates fundamental human rights,” he stressed.
Every year for more than three decades (with the exception of 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic) the United Nations General Assembly voted almost unanimously to call for an end to the blockade.
The letter to Cardín reiterated that the status quo of US policy towards Cuba is also unpopular at home.
“Repeated polls have found that a significant majority of the American public, including majorities of both Democrats and Republicans, support ending the embargo,” he said.
That this policy continues despite its devastating humanitarian effects and near-universal condemnation greatly damages the United States' credibility abroad and undermines aspirations toward universal human rights and a rules-based international order, he added.
He also indicated that, for many years, Senator Bob Menéndez - accused of corruption - exercised his position at the head of the Foreign Relations Committee to obstruct any relief measure for the Cuban people.
In their request to Cardín, those who signed the letter hope that his legacy upon leaving Congress soon “will be that of someone willing to transcend the inertia of the status quo and do the right thing; for the people of Cuba, the United States and the entire world.” (Text and photo: PL)
