Cuban government estimates record impact of US embargo

The Cuban government estimated a record impact of $3806.5 million as a result of The embargo imposed by the United States on the island Within seven months, between August 2021 and February 2022.

This is the time included in Latest Report On the damage caused by Washington’s restrictive policy, which Cuba will present at the beginning of November at the United Nations General Assembly.

“It is estimated that Cuba’s GDP could have grown by 4.5% in this period, if the embargo had not existed,” Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in this regard when presenting the document on Wednesday before the national and foreign press. State Department (MINRIX).

In addition, according to Rodriguez, during the first 14 months of Democratic President Joe Biden’s rule, damages caused to Cuba by the embargo amounted to $6,364 million, “also a historic record.” The minister pointed out that this is equivalent to allocations of more than 454 million dollars per month and more than 15 million dollars per day.

In this way, in the six decades of implementing this policy, the cumulative damages amounted to $154.217 million at current prices, a figure that the Secretary of State deemed “exorbitant for a small economy, without great natural resources, isolated, backward, like Cuban.”

The value of gold, taking into account depreciation, this cumulative damage exceeds one trillion dollars (1,391,111,000,000).

Rodriguez commented that the ban has been strengthened “to unprecedented levels” during the Trump administration, and noted that Biden has maintained that line “unfortunately and beautifully.” Today, he said, the island has an “aggressive quality that hasn’t existed in the past” and has a “surgical determination” to follow up on the island’s funding and supply sources, in a context exacerbated by the pandemic.

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The foreign minister detailed the effects of the embargo on the Cuban economy, noting that it was “aimed at causing the country’s inability to meet the basic needs of the population.” For this reason he described it as “harmful and harmful” in human terms and considered that the application of “humanitarian exceptions” to this policy by the current democratic government would be “correct”.

Regarding the changes announced by the Biden administration so far regarding Cuba, on issues such as trips to the island, consular procedures in Havana, and transfers, he emphasized that although they are “in the right direction”, they are “very extreme.” limited. In some cases, it is not practically applicable.

Likewise, he criticized Biden’s insistence on Title III of the Helms-Burton Act and the “arbitrary and unjustifiable” inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, in Washington’s view, reinforcing the harmful effects of US sanctions on the island. Economie.

Finally, Rodriguez asserted that “the rejection of the embargo is global,” considering it a policy that “did not achieve the proposed goals,” but “causes a lot of human harm” and “suffers every day,” and asserted that Cuba, the United States and the rest of the world “would be better off without a blockade.” “.

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The Cuban report on the effects of the embargo, entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”, will be presented for the thirtieth time on 2 and 3 November before the General Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ONU.

So far, the initiative has enjoyed the majority of international support and systematic opposition from the United States and Israel, with the exception of 2016 during Obama’s presidency. Both countries abstained.

last year The vote was held in JuneAfter it could not be held in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Session Result show up 184 voted in favor of ending the embargo against Cuba, three countries abstained (Colombia, Ukraine and Brazil) and voted against the United States and Israel.

Aileen Morales

"Beer nerd. Food fanatic. Alcohol scholar. Tv practitioner. Writer. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot."

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