Biden refuses to lift US embargo
President Joe Biden has condemned Communism, calling it a “universally failed system” while also labelling Cuba as a “failed state”. This comes amind ongoing protests in Cuba, which remains under US sanctions.
Just last month 184 countries in the United Nations voted in favor of a resolution to demand the U.S. end its embargo on Cuba. It was the 29th year in a row the U.N. called for the embargo to end. Trump made the sanctions even worse and Biden still refuses to lift them.
— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) July 16, 2021
“Cuba is unfortunately a failed state and repressing their citizens. There are a number of things that we would consider doing to help the people of Cuba, but it would require a different circumstance or a guarantee that they would not be taken advantage of by the government,” the 46th President said during a press conference on Thursday.
“For example, the ability to send remittances back to Cuba. We would not do that now because the fact is it’s highly likely the regime would confiscate those remittances or big chunks of it.”
Protests in Cuba are occurring for a number of reasons, including its handling of the pandemic, food shortages, internet access, and access to medicine. The president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said in a TV address: “The order to fight has been given – into the street, revolutionaries!”
Miguel Díaz-Canel blames US sanctions for the nations economic conditions, which saw the economy drop 11% last year. He described the embargo as “Cruel and Genocidal”.
Saying that all or most of Cuba's problems are a result of the US embargo implies 2 things:
1. Access to free trade makes economic conditions better.
2. Communism can only work if it has access to non-communist economies.
End the embargo. Trade is better than control.
— Spike Cohen (@RealSpikeCohen) July 16, 2021
But what is the US sanctioned Embargo?
Due to the Batista dictatorship, the US first imposed an embargo on the sale of arms in Cuba in 1958. Cuba nationalised US-owned oil refineries in 1960, which led to further embargoes being placed on the country. From 2000, the embargo no longer prevents food and humanitarian supplies from reaching the people. The sanctions are to remain in place until Cuba moves towards “democratisation and greater respect for human rights”.
“I’d be prepared to give significant amounts of vaccine if, in fact, I was assured an international organisation would administer those vaccines and would do it in a way that average citizens would have access to those vaccines,” President Biden said.
For twenty-nine consecutive years, the UN has voted to dissolve the economic blockade, but in 2021, Israel and the US were the only two countries to vote for its continued implementation.
During Obama’s presidency, the laws surrounding the sanctions became more liberal. But this was overturned by President Trump, who imposed the strictest economic measures in decades and reintroduced the travel ban.
Regardless of the popular unrest in Cuba or how we feel about Cuban regime, it is absolutely inhumane for us to deny our neighbor life-saving vaccines. Why the hell are we not giving vaccines to Cuba? We’ve got hundreds of millions of doses sitting on the shelf?
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) July 16, 2021
Though Biden is head honcho, many other political powerhouses don’t agree with his refusal to lift the ban. Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote the following on Twitter:
“We are seeing Cubans rise up and protest for their rights like never before. We stand in solidarity with them, and we condemn the anti-democratic actions led by President Diaz-Canel. The suppression of the media, speech and protest are all gross violations of civil rights.”
We stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and condemn the suppression of the media, speech and protest.
We also call for an end to the U.S. embargo and additional Trump-era restrictions that are profoundly contributing to the suffering of Cubans. pic.twitter.com/Fw6Quv5TAN
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 16, 2021
“We also must name the U.S. contribution to Cuban suffering: our sixty-year-old embargo. Last month, once again, the U.N. voted overwhelmingly to call on the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba.
“The embargo is absurdly cruel and, like too many other U.S. policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point. I outright reject the Biden administration’s defense of the embargo. It is never acceptable for us to use cruelty as a point of leverage against every day people.”
