The letter, addressed to the Democratic Senator from that state, Ben Cardin, the current head of the influential committee, urges him to work to lift the economic, commercial and financial blockade and move forward “in normalizing relations between our two countries.”
The signatories noted that the blockade has been in place for more than 60 years, “and during that period, its main impact has been the enormous suffering of the Cuban people.”
The text stressed that “the blockade, by its nature, hinders Cuba's economic development and affects the entire population” at a cost of $159 billion since its imposition, according to Cuban government data.
He noted that the effects of this extraterritorial coercive measure are “felt in all aspects of daily life, especially in vulnerable communities.”
The document stressed that the blockade “impedes access to basic goods such as food, water and medicine; exacerbates 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. “
He stressed that this hostile policy “ultimately violates basic human rights.”
Every year, for more than three decades (with the exception of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the UN General Assembly has voted almost unanimously to call for an end to the blockade.
The letter to Cardin reiterated that the status quo of US policy toward Cuba is unpopular at home as well.
“Repeated polls have found that a large majority of the American public, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans, support ending the embargo,” he said.
He added that the continuation of this policy despite its devastating humanitarian impacts and near-universal condemnation greatly harms US credibility abroad and undermines aspirations toward universal human rights and a rules-based international order.
He also noted that Senator Bob Menendez – accused of corruption – has for many years been exercising his position at the head of the Foreign Relations Committee to obstruct any relief measure for the Cuban people.
In their request to Cardin, those who signed the letter hope that his legacy after leaving Congress soon will be “someone willing to move beyond the stagnation of the status quo and do the right thing; for the people of Cuba, the United States and the entire world.”
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