Cuba withstands most costly year in the blockade’s history
For the first time, damages caused by the genocidal U.S. blockade of Cuba surpassed five billion dollars in a year’s time

Nuria Barbosa Leónoctober 29, 2020 10:10:58

Photo: Falco
For the first time in the history of the genocidal U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, the damages and losses caused surpassed a total of five billion dollars in a year’s time, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla reported, October 22.

In the annual report prepared by the Ministry describing the magnitude of damage suffered as a result of this extraterritorial policy, to current and future prospects for development o the island, the Foreign Minister denounced, in an online press conference, the increasing aggressiveness of the U.S. government, which, showing no concern for the COVID-19 pandemic, imposed more sanctions on Cuba, in a flagrant violation of all norms governing foreign trade and investment.

On the occasion of the submission to the United Nations General Assembly of a resolution entitled “The necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba,” Rodríguez reviewed the impact of this hostile policy on various sectors of society, during the period between April 2019 and March 2020.

He noted that, since President Donald Trump took office, more than 90 restrictive measures have been adopted in just one year, practically one per week, indicative of the administration’s intention to cause greater suffering to the Cuban people and negatively impact the country’s efforts to implement our updated socio-economic strategy.

“The blockade is applied in an extraterritorial manner, violating the sovereignty of third states, companies and citizens of other countries,” the Minister stated, and urged the international community to once again overwhelmingly reject the cruel interventionist policy and approve the proposed resolution for the 29th time, at the UN General Assembly in May of 2021.

He noted that U.S. persecution of fuel shipping companies, sanctions, and slander campaigns are increasingly perverse: “Whoever wins the elections in the United States must recognize that the blockade harms Cubans, harms families, violates human rights and makes travel, visas and family reunification difficult.”

He described how the blockade affects U.S. citizens, as well, and leaves the government in “profound isolation, discredited,” in addition to causing damages to other countries and violating their national sovereignty.

He described as cynical efforts to convince Cubans that the blockade has no real impact, to minimize it as an issue, when families on the island suffer its effects “every day and every hour.”

“The blockade, by nature, and its further tightening over the last two years, are an expression of the historical inability of the U.S. government to recognize that Cuba is an independent nation, which according to international law has the right to enjoy and exercise its sovereignty and self-determination,” Rodríguez Parrilla insisted.