Georgetown: Cuba marked the anniversary of Fidel Castro’s first armed uprising 62 years ago on Monday with renewed calls for an end to the US embargo since the blockade has deeply affected the communist nation’s fortunes.
According to President of the Guyana-Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM), Halim Khan for some, such posturing recalls the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis between the United States and the former Soviet Union, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear warfare and was a major motivation for the blockade against Cuba.
And although the Cold War is over, Khan said it is the United States’ “geopolitical interests” that determine its stance towards Cuba
He said US domestic politics also play a role, with the vote of a large and vocal anti-Havana Cuban expat community holding the potential to swing battleground states such as Florida.
However, the GCSM President said that the Board of Alders of the U.S. city of New Haven approved a resolution against the U.S. embargo on Cuba, thus joining other cities and towns in the United States that have approved official pronouncements of this type.
In particular, Khan explained that the resolution requests President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress to eliminate all current restrictions on trade and travel between the two countries, as well as to work to fully resume diplomatic and consular relations.
He said that the text points out that the embargo “contributes greatly to the shortage of food, fuel and medical supplies in Cuban territory” and cites possible benefits of its elimination for New Haven, such as the possibility for companies from that city to export their products to the island and collaborate with scientific and medical institutions of the Caribbean country for the development of medicines and devices.
After maintaining the policy of his predecessor Donald Trump for more than a year, Khan noted that Biden and his administration announced several measures aimed at Cuba in May, such as the elimination of limits on remittances, the reauthorization of so-called group trips and the family reunification program, and the reestablishment of regular and charter flights to airports outside of Havana.
However, the GSCM President noted that the Cuban authorities and solidarity organizations consider these announcements “insufficient” because they maintain in force most of the sanctions and restrictions established by the embargo.
For its economic development, Khan noted that Cuba needs to attract some 2.5 billion dollars in direct foreign investment annually, mainly in key sectors such as industry, agri-food, tourism, mining, biotechnology, oil and renewable energy.
Currently, he said that the Cuban government has prepared measures to tame inflation and strengthen the peso.
He also credited a COVID-19 vaccination campaign that has reached 80 percent of the country’s population for clearing the way for a full recovery.
Underscoring that Cuba now has five vaccines in various stages, Khan said three of the vaccines, Soberana 1, Soberana 2 and Soberna Plus, were developed and the other two, Abdala and Mambisa, came out of Cuba’s Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
He explained Soberana 2, Soberana Plus and Abdala are authorized by the Cuban authorities for use and export while the other two (one of which is a nasal spray) are still in clinical trials.
“Cuba was able to vaccinate virtually the entire population without having to worry about access to foreign vaccines while most of the Third World is not yet vaccinated because the vaccines are all produced in the developed countries,” he said.
Additionally, Khan noted that the Biden administration had made a poor decision against inviting the governments of Cuba to the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas.
“Far from signalling a willingness to partner with regional countries to tackle common issues, Washington seems to take advantage of the summit to restore its waning influence and tighten its grip over Latin American nations, which are increasingly wary of U.S. self-interest,” Khan noted.
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