Cuba solidarity activists, organized by the People’s Forum, published an open letter today in the New York Times, urging US President Biden to overturn devastating Trump-era sanctions on Cuba. This letter comes as the island is experiencing blackouts driven by the energy crisis—the direct result of such sanctions.
“Cuba is currently experiencing a nationwide blackout, exacerbated by the cruel sixty-year-long US embargo,” the letter reads. “This embargo has prevented the country from purchasing fuel, accessing essential goods, and obtaining spare parts for its power grid- leaving millions of people in the dark.”
Next week, the UN will take its annual vote to lift the US blockade against Cuba, which historically has resulted in UN member nations voting nearly unanimously against the blockade. Last year, 187 nations voted for a UN resolution to end the over-60-year-long blockade. The only states to vote against the resolution were the US and Israel. Ukraine was the only state to abstain.
Biden has upheld former president Trump’s harsh measures against Cuba, which reversed Obama-era policies towards normalization. These include maintaining Cuba on the US’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, as well as Trump’s 243 additional sanctions against the socialist state.
“In the past sixty years, the embargo has cost over $164 billion in damages, with more than $5 billion in losses in the last year alone (March 2023-February 2024). Each year, the United States stands virtually alone before the UN General Assembly as the word condemns this policy,” the letter states.
“This devastating blackout is just one aspect of the United States’ legacy of facilitating suffering on the island through the embargo. Trump’s brutal policy should be reversed. It’s not too late to do the right thing.”