Urge Support for Senate Bill to End the US Blockade of Cuba
Published on April, 02 2021
Group of people marching against the US blockade of Cuba in Santa Clara, Cuba, on May 1, 2019. Photo credit: Julio Rivalta / Shutterstock.com.
By Leni Villagomez Reeves
Co-chair, Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance Committee
April 2021
WILPF US supports a new bill in the US Senate (S.249) that would end the US blockade of Cuba. We urge our senators to support and co-sponsor this bill, and encourage all WILPF members to contact your senators regarding this bill.
The U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021, (S.249, sponsored by Wyden, Leahy, Durbin) would repeal the major statutes that exist in law to impose sanctions on Cuba. These include the Helms-Burton Act and the Torricelli Act (“Cuban Democracy Act”), as well as other provisions that affect trade, travel, and investment with Cuba.
There are many sophisticated economic arguments we could produce to establish that the US blockade of Cuba harms both countries, not just Cuba. I do not think that is necessary to make these kinds of arguments here in WILPF. We can see that siege warfare is cruel and immoral, without having to be told that ending the blockade will promote US agricultural exports.
Senate Bill 249 can go forward to the floor of the Senate for a vote – if it has enough support! Please contact your senators right away and urge them to support and co-sponsor this bill.
Some Important Links and a Sample Letter
Here are some links for more information:
Senator Ron Wyden's press announcement when the bill was introduced.
Here’s a sample letter to send to your senators:
Dear [Senator’s Name]:
We urge you to co-sponsor and support the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021 (S.249: Wyden, Leahy, Durbin).
This bill would repeal the major statutes that exist in law to impose sanctions on Cuba. These include the Helms-Burton Act and the Cuban Democracy Act, as well as other provisions that affect trade, travel, and investment with Cuba.
For sixty years, U.S. policy toward Cuba of diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions has hurt the people of Cuba while also harming the U.S. national interest. A growing majority of people living in the United States, including a majority of Cuban-Americans, want all U.S. citizens to have the right to travel to Cuba, and freedom to trade with Cuba as part of a new policy based on engaging with the Cuban people freely and respecting their right to self-determination.
Ending the blockade would be good for the U.S. economy; it would expand demand for U.S. products, help the tourist travel and airline industries, and create jobs for people living in the United States. Experts estimate that the blockade costs the U.S. economy over $1 billion annually and that ending the restrictions could create thousands of jobs for people living in the United States.
In addition to Cuban medical expertise, medicines, and vaccines for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the blockade has deprived U.S. citizens of Cuba’s other medical breakthroughs. Cuba has developed the first meningitis B vaccine. Most recently Cuba released CimaVax EGF, a vaccine that allows some lung cancers to be a survivable chronic disease. And Heberprot-P, developed in Cuba to utilize recombinant growth factor for the treatment of ischemic diabetic foot ulcers, vastly reduces the need for amputation. This is an enormous problem in the U.S.
The policy of isolation of Cuba is misguided, ineffective, and immoral. It has no international support, as demonstrated by an annual UN General Assembly vote in which only the U.S. and Israel consistently vote in favor of the blockade/embargo, while for 29 consecutive years over 185 countries have voted for a resolution calling for an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba.
The U.S. blockade of Cuba is a policy that has harmed the people of Cuba. There is not one single Cuban family that has not suffered the consequences of this. The travel ban is also an infringement on the rights of U.S. citizens.
We have a moral and economic obligation to end this failed policy. Please co-sponsor and support S249, the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021.
