Havana, Sep 13 (Prensa Latina) Despite the annual claims of the international community, the US blockade continues today as the greatest obstacle to Cuba’s development and it systematically violates the fundamental rights of the population.
According to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, the US blockade constitutes the most ruthless, comprehensive and prolonged economic warfare policy ever imposed on any country.
This was denounced by the Foreign Minister on Thursday when he released the report Necessity of putting an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, which will be presented next October for approval by the United Nations General Assembly.
The document states that, as a consequence of that policy, Cuba suffered losses of five thousand 56.8 million dollars from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, which represents an increase of almost 200 million dollars with respect to the previous report.
In his speech, Rodriguez stated that the approximate loss is more than 421 million dollars per month, that is, 13.8 million dollars per day, and pointed out that in six decades, such losses would amount to one trillion 499 billion dollars.
In the absence of such a policy, the island’s Gross Domestic Product could have grown by eight percent in 2023, he stressed.
The foreign minister pointed out that Cuba’s arbitrary inclusion in the State Department’s list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism deepens the difficulties and significantly affects Cuban families.
Cuba is a victim of terrorism that is organized and financed from U.S. territory, he denounced.
The minister praised the foreign support to Cuba, evident in the growing calls within the US society, to put an end to the coercive measures and the link of the Caribbean country with international terrorism.
Cuba is not alone in confronting this multidimensional encirclement, Rodriguez recalled, pointing out that since 1992, the international community has ratified the rejection of this policy, reinforced to unprecedented levels during the impact of Covid-19.
(Taken from PL in Spanish)
