Despite annual calls from the international community, the US blockade continues today as the greatest obstacle to Cuba’s development and systematically violates the fundamental rights of the population.
According to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, 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 result of this policy, Cuba suffered losses of five thousand 56.8 million dollars from 1 March 2023 to 29 February 2024, which represents an increase of almost 200 million dollars compared to the previous report.
In his speech, Rodríguez stated that the approximate loss is more than 421 million dollars a month, or 13.8 million dollars a day, and pointed out that in six decades, these losses have risen to one trillion 499 billion dollars.
In the absence of such a policy, the island’s gross domestic product could have grown by eight per cent in 2023, he said.
The foreign minister pointed out that Cuba’s arbitrary inclusion on 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 organised and financed from US territory, he denounced.
The minister praised foreign support for Cuba, evident in the growing calls within US society for an end to coercive measures and to the Caribbean country’s links with international terrorism.
Cuba is not alone in confronting this multidimensional encirclement, Rodríguez recalled, pointing out that since 1992, the international community has ratified its rejection of this policy, which was reinforced to unprecedented levels during the impact of Covid-19.
