U.S. News
US Embargo on Cuba Sparks Calls for Immediate Change
Clear Facts
- Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson criticized U.S. economic restrictions on Cuba after a five-day delegation.
- President Trump recently signaled a strategic shift toward Cuba following military developments involving Iran and Venezuela.
- Legislation was introduced by Jayapal and Gregory Meeks to prevent military action against Cuba without congressional approval.
Democrat lawmakers are intensifying their opposition to the long-standing U.S. embargo on Cuba, labeling it an illegal fuel blockade.
They say the current economic pressure campaign creates a humanitarian crisis and amounts to collective punishment of the Cuban people.
During a speech in Miami Beach, President Donald Trump described Cuba as a failed nation.
He indicated that the island would be a primary focus of U.S. foreign policy following recent actions in the Middle East.
“The illegal U.S. blockade of fuel to Cuba—90 miles south of the United States—adds to the longest embargo in world history and is causing untold suffering to the Cuban people.”
“The United States prevented a single drop of oil from entering Cuba for over three months. This is cruel collective punishment—effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country—that has produced permanent damage. It must stop immediately.”
The delegation reported that the Cuban government has released over 2,000 prisoners and begun liberalizing its economy.
They also noted that Cuba has invited the FBI to investigate a recent lethal speedboat shooting.
“The remaining obstacles to progress in Cuba now rest with the United States changing our outdated, Cold War-era policy of coercive economic measures and military pressures against Cuba,” the pair added.
The lawmakers urged the United States to enter formal negotiations with the island nation to seek a new course of collaboration.
They maintain that current policies lack the support of most of the American public.
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