N° 22 mars 2022 In the February 3 (1) issue of Granma, official organ of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, the revolutionary government of Cuba denounces:
"the maintenance for more than 60 years of the economic, commercial and financial blockade officially imposed by the United States on February 3, 1962. On that date, then-President John F. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3447, which declared a total “embargo” on trade with our country.” This economic blockade aims to suffocate the Cuban economy. It is the central axis of the strategy of US imperialism aimed at restricting the legitimate right of Cubans to defend their sovereignty and build an emancipating project outside of imperialist domination. Initially, the main justification given by the United States for applying this measure was Cuba's relationship with the socialist countries, which supposedly undermined the security of the United States and of the continent. The real objectives of the policy with regard to Cuba had already been stated in the April 6, 1960 memorandum of Under Secretary of State Lester D. Mallory:"to cause disillusionment and discouragement through economic dissatisfaction and shortages (...) to weaken economic life by depriving Cuba of money and supplies in order to reduce nominal and real wages, to cause hunger, despair and the overthrow of the government".
According to Cuba's revolutionary government: "The blockade has evolved into the most complex, protracted and inhumane act of economic warfare committed against any nation. Its effects have restrained opportunities for economic development, as it was designed to hamper trade relations with third countries, impede banking and financial operations as much as possible, curb foreign investment and cut off all sources of income." This is a policy in violation of international law, which aims, through pressure, blackmail and sanctions, to isolate Cuba and punish those who establish any economic, commercial and financial ties with the country. It is to consider Cuba as a property of US imperialism, as its backyard where everything is possible and legitimate in complete violation of independence and national sovereignty. It is an act of genocide within the meaning of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. According to the Cuban revolutionary government and despite the denials of the US imperialists and their allies, the cumulative damage over these six decades: "exceeds 144.413 billion dollars in current value. Since 2019, economic coercion measures have reached a qualitatively higher level of aggressiveness. Unconventional warfare measures improper in peacetime, are being applied in an effort to deprive Cuba of fuel supplies."
In the context of the fight against COVID-19, the strengthening of the blockade (2) has reached unsuspected levels, preventing solidarity donations, attempting to hinder the development of Cuban vaccines and limiting the possibilities of access to medicines and basic supplies.
The Cuban revolutionary government observes that:"The assets of the Cuban socialist system and the unity of the people have made it possible despite the blockade, to avoid the economic and social collapse sought, to achieve exceptional human development, according to the indices recognized by the United Nations, to guarantee indisputable progress in terms of social justice and to generate a progressive transformation of the economic and productive structure in search of sustainable development. It would be worthwhile to ask how many small, underdeveloped economies could have survived an assault of this magnitude.
The blockade against Cuba meets with near-unanimous condemnation and every year at the UN almost unanimously nations demand an end to this blockade and only Israel and the USA approve it, while Brazil, Colombia and Ukraine abstain.
The revolutionary government concludes: "in the name of the Cuban people, demands once again, firmly and energetically, the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States. Our denunciation will remain firm and unchanged until this inhuman and illegal policy ceases in its entirety".
Our Revolutionary Party Communistes like thousands of political and social organizations and trade unions around the world, demands an end to this despicable blockade. It reaffirms its support for Cuba and its people in their struggle for the respect of their sovereignty and their choices for socialist development.
(1) https://fr.granma.cu/cuba/2022-02-03/soixante-ans-apres-la-proclamation-qui-a-officialise-le-blocus-economique-criminel-des-etats-unis-contre-cuba
(2) The General Assembly once again rejected, on June 23, 2021, by an overwhelming majority, the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States for almost six decades, stressing the need to end it without delay. Adopted by 184 votes in favor, the opposition of the United States and Israel, and the abstentions of Brazil, Colombia and Ukraine, the resolution is added to the 29 other ones adopted since 1992.