Women in Struggle condemns U.S. blockade of Cuba

From the United States itself, we demand the immediate end of the inhuman and criminal blockade that this government has imposed on the Republic of Cuba for almost 60 years.

The blockade of Cuba represents the lowest level that a government can exhibit. At the same time that representatives of the United States travel the world boasting and waving a so-called flag of democracy and freedom, this country commits the most sinister acts against 11 million people in the Cuban Republic, simply because it does not agree with their system of government.

The hostility towards that republic originated on the same day that the Cuban Revolution triumphed. Since then, the blockade has caused immense damage to infrastructure, with threats and criminal acts against its leadership, its population and its economy. The U.S. has tried — unsuccessfully — to isolate Cuba from the international community and resources.

However, the example of dignity and generosity to all the peoples of the world comes from Cuba. The hand of solidarity goes even to the United States itself through medical scholarships to the Latin American School of Medicine, and the offer of help in times of disasters, as was done after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Then-President George W. Bush refused to acknowledge or accept Cuba’s offer.

The criminal Helms-Burton Act — misnamed “The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act” and imposed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 — illustrates the great falsehood of the U.S. government. This law reinforced the blockade then, and now the current Trump administration has taken it to the highest level of cruelty. Enforcing Title III of that law aims to totally strangle the Cuban economy and, therefore, its people. Title III, enforced for the first time since 1996, punishes third countries and companies that trade with Cuba, which demonstrates U.S. contempt for international law.

We — along with the majority of the countries of the world — demand the immediate end of the blockade, the longest in history.

Signed,
Steering Committee of Women in Struggle / Mujeres en Lucha of Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Diego