US Reps in Cuba Denounce Blockade      04/07 06:12

   

   HAVANA (AP) -- Two U.S lawmakers called for a permanent solution to Cuba's 
crises after witnessing the effects of a U.S. energy blockade during an 
official visit to the island.

   Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of 
Illinois met with Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno 
Rodrguez and members of Parliament during a five-day trip that ended Sunday.

   Daz-Canel wrote on X Monday that upon meeting with Jayapal and Jackson, he 
"denounced the criminal damage caused by the #blockade, particularly the 
consequences of the energy embargo imposed by the current U.S. administration 
and its threats of even more aggressive actions."

   Daz-Canel added: "I reiterated our government's willingness to engage in 
serious and responsible bilateral dialogue and find solutions to our existing 
differences."

   Both the U.S. and Cuba have acknowledged recently that talks are ongoing at 
the highest level, but no details have been disclosed.

   Jayapal told reporters she believes that recent steps taken by Cuba, such as 
opening the economy to certain investments by Cuban Americans living abroad; 
the recent announcement that more than 2,000 prisoners would be pardoned; and 
the arrival of an FBI team to collaborate in the investigation of a fatal 
shooting involving a U.S.-flagged boat, "indicate that the moment is here for 
us to have a real negotiation between the two countries and to reverse the 
failed U.S. policy of decades, a Cold War remnant that no longer serves the 
American people or the Cuban people."

   Cuba's government has released the pardoned prisoners who were accused of a 
variety of crimes, although none so far appear to be political prisoners.

   In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on 
any country that would sell or provide oil to Cuba, although he made an 
exception for a Russian ship that reached the island last week with 730,000 
barrels of crude oil. It was the first petroleum shipment in three months to 
dock in Cuba, which produces only 40% of the oil it needs.

   "This is cruel collective punishment -- effectively an economic bombing of 
the infrastructure of the country -- that has produced permanent damage. It 
must stop immediately," Jayapal and Jackson said in a statement released Sunday.

   Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked 
the South American country in early January and arrested its then-leader, 
Nicols Maduro.

   Cubans already suffering from five years of economic crisis have acutely 
felt the impact of the fuel shortage: national blackouts, gasoline shortages 
and rationing, lack of public transport, cuts in working hours, paralyzed 
hospitals and surgeries, and suspension of flights, among other things.

   Russia has promised a second delivery of petroleum, although it's not clear 
when it might arrive. Experts have said that the first shipment could produce 
about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba's daily demand for nine or 
10 days.

   Jayapal said that while such shipments are critical, they are only temporary 
solutions: "We need a longer, permanent solution for the Cuban people and the 
American people."

   Meanwhile, Jackson compared the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran's 
coast to the oil blockade in Cuba, adding that the island "is the most 
sanctioned part of Earth."

   "Our government is fighting to keep the Strait of Hormuz open so there is a 
free flow of oil around the world. We want, for humanitarian reasons, a free 
flow of oil, fuel, and energy in our own hemisphere," he said.

   Jackson and Jayapal said they would prepare a report and continue to work on 
initiatives proposed by fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives to 
lift sanctions against Cuba to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.