Democrat lawmakers blasted ‘fuel embargo’ on Cuba after delegation to the island
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., said after the congressional delegation returned from Cuba that the US economic restrictions on the island represented an “illegal US fuel blockade” and “economic bombing of the country’s infrastructure.”
The lawyers, following their five-day delegation to Cuba, spoke out against what they described as a humanitarian crisis on the island that they said was related to the US embargo.
“The US illegal fuel embargo on Cuba – 90 kilometers south of the United States – adds to the longest embargo in world history and causes great suffering to the Cuban people,” the lawmakers said in a statement on Sunday. “The United States has blocked one drop of oil from entering Cuba for more than three months. This is a brutal collective punishment—the economic bombing of the country’s infrastructure—that has caused permanent damage. It must end immediately.”
US ALLOWS RUSSIAN OIL TANKER TO ARRIVE IN CUBA AMID BLOCKADE AS TRUMP SAYS ISLAND ‘MUST SURVIVE’
Lawyers Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson said behind the delegation in Cuba that there is a humanitarian crisis on the island. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We have seen babies born prematurely in incubators, weighing only two kilograms, who are in great danger because their ventilators and incubators cannot work without electricity,” they continued. “Children cannot go to school because there is no fuel to transport them or their teachers. Cancer patients cannot receive life-saving medicines due to lack of medicines. Water is scarce because there is no electricity to pump water. Businesses are closed. Families cannot keep food in the fridge, and food production on the island has decreased to only 10% of people’s needs.”
This comes as US President Donald Trump has stepped up his pressure on Cuba in recent weeks, calling the island a “failed nation” and suggesting that “Cuba is next” following recent US military action in Venezuela and Iran.
The trip came after Jayapal and Rep. Gregory Meeks, DN.Y., introduced legislation to block federal funds for the war against Cuba without congressional approval.
The two lawyers spoke out against what they described as the “illegal US oil embargo” and the “economic bombing of the country’s infrastructure.” (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Jayapal and Jackson said they spoke with families, religious leaders, businessmen, civil society organizations, the Cuban government, embassies in Latin America and Africa, humanitarian organizations and Cubans in all political circles, including the opposition.
“In all sectors, there is agreement: this illegal ban must end immediately. We do not believe that the majority of the American people would want this kind of brutality and violence to continue in our name,” said the lawmakers.
The two added that the Cuban government “sent many signals that this is a new era in the country.”
“While we were there, President Diaz-Canel released more than 2,000 prisoners. The Cuban government has begun to liberalize its economy through important reforms, including allowing Cuban-American businessmen to invest in private businesses in Cuba. Entrepreneurship has grown significantly, as small and medium-sized private businesses now comprise large parts of the economy,” the statement said.
CUBA RELEASES 2,000 PRISONERS AMID TRUMP PRENDERE, ENERGY CRISIS
US President Donald Trump has increased his campaign to suppress Cuba in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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“What is important is that the Cuban government has invited the FBI to conduct an independent investigation into the dangerous shooting of the speed boat,” it continued. “The remaining obstacles to progress in Cuba now lie in the United States reversing our Cold War-era policy of coercive economic measures and military pressures against Cuba.”
Jayapal and Jackson continued that “true change will only come from charting a new course.”
“The United States and Cuba must immediately enter into real negotiations that provide dignity and freedom for the Cuban people and the great benefits for the American people that will come from real cooperation between our two countries,” they concluded.
