Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Rome, Mar 10.- The UnioneSindacale di Base (USB, by its acronym in Italian), an important Italian trade union, has denounced the blockade imposed in that country by a payment platform on funds destined for the "Medicine for Cuba" campaign, according to a report today.
A statement published on the official website of the Italian union states that "in recent days, we have verified that the PayPal money transfer system blocks funds from private citizens who send money" in support of this initiative, launched last March 5.
"Our union was asked why we were using the PayPal system for actions related to Cuba," the USB's complaint states.
The mere appearance of the word Cuba activates this restriction, as an expression in this country of the extraterritorial application of the criminal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed on the island by the United States for over sixty years, which has been 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 shortage of oil, medicine, and food on the island is increasing," and "it is unacceptable that even solidarity actions and the transfer of funds for humanitarian aid are blocked by U.S. authorities," the note states.
In the call for this new initiative, that union expressed that "what the Trump administration imposes 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." It is, as noted, a genocidal action "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, free access to health and education."
Cuba has trained doctors for the whole world, bringing public healthcare where the market only brought poverty, and this is what imperialism does not forgive: having demonstrated that an alternative exists, that the health of a people can take precedence over the profit of a few.
The USB also states that the United States increased pressure on all countries that receive medical care from Cuban personnel, demanding that they expel Cuban health workers, and cites the case of the Italian region of Calabria, whose people and government recently rejected such maneuvers.
That union reaffirms that, despite the obstacles it faces, it is vigorously 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. (Text and photo: PL)
