Cuba

by Ted Snider  Once a year, Cuba raises its head above the fence around America’s backyard and calls out to the world to condemn its imprisonment. And, once a year, the US, despite all its lofty rhetoric of international order and democracy, ignores the voice of the United Nations General Assembly and goes on starving the people of Cuba. In thirty consecutive votes since 1992, the UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly condemned the US embargo of Cuba. Last year the vote against the US was 184-2. The US and Israel voted against ending the embargo and Ukraine, Colombia and Brazil abstained. This year, on November 3, the condemnation of the US was even stronger. The US lost one of its abstaining allies and was condemned by the world by a vote of 185-2. Only Israel voted with...

PSL Editorial – The U.S. blockade of Cuba must end Liberation Staff Download PDF flyer By a vote of 185 to 2, the world has once again condemned the U.S. blockade of Cuba at the United Nations. The United States was joined only by the apartheid regime of Israel in defense of this brutal policy that seeks to impose maximum suffering on the people of Cuba. This is the 30th year in a row that the UN voted overwhelmingly to call for the blockade to be lifted. The utter cruelty of the U.S. blockade cannot be overstated. It denies Cuba not only the right to trade with entities in the United States, but also blocks any entity that does business in Cuba from also doing business in the United States. The full weight of the largest economy in the world is applied to ensure that Cuba...

In Cuba, abortion and all healthcare is free, and enshrined in a constitution democratically voted on by the people. In the US, nine unelected, life-long judges control society based on a 1787 constitution written by slaveowners. By: Calla Walsh A May Day 2022 rally in La Habana, Cuba When I connected to wifi for the first time in five days, a notification appeared on my phone announcing that the US Supreme Court had voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that makes access to abortion a legal right. Like most people when they heard the news, I felt shock waves run down my body. It was a draft opinion, but if the consensus holds, abortion will likely become illegal immediately or very quickly in 13 US states. This is despite the fact that nearly t...

An open letter organized by CodePink calls on U.S. President Joe Biden to abandon the Trump administration's hostile posture toward the Caribbean island. KENNY STANCIL More than 10,000 people and 100 progressive advocacy groups have signed an open letter urging U.S. President Joe Biden to reverse the Trump administration's terrorism designation for Cuba and to reinstate Obama-era policy with the Caribbean island. "Your policies toward Cuba, which have been more aligned with those of President [Donald] Trump than President [Barack] Obama, are hurting the well-being of the Cuban people and run counter to the will of the majority of U.S. citizens," says the letter, organized by peace campaigners at CodePink. "An important policy change that we urge you to take immediate...

BY MEDEA BENJAMIN - NATASHA LYCIA ORA BANNAN Revolution Square, Havana. Photo by Medea Benjamin. As the Cuban government celebrates the July 26 Day of the National Rebellion–a public holiday commemorating the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks that is considered the precursor to the 1959 revolution–U.S. groups are calling on the Biden administration to stop its cruel sanctions that are creating such hardship for the Cuban people. In particular, they are pushing President Biden to take Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Being on this list subjects Cuba to a series of devastating international financial restrictions. It is illegal for U.S. banks to process transactions to Cuba, but U.S. sanctions also have an unlawful extraterritorial reach.&...

BY ROGER WATERS, VIJAY PRASHAD AND MANOLO DE LOS SANTOS Photograph Source: Jason Gamble – Unsplash The United States maintains a list of countries that it considers as “state sponsors of terrorism.” There are currently four countries on that list: Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria. The basic idea behind this list is that the U.S. State Department determines that these countries have “provided support for acts of international terrorism.” Evidence about those “acts” are not provided by the U.S. government. For Cuba, there is not one shred of evidence that the government has offered any such support to terrorism activities, in fact, Cuba has—since 1959—been a victim of acts of terrorism by the United States, including an attempted invasion in 1961 (Bay of Pigs) and repea...

Sameena Rahman Download PDF flyer The Biden administration announced yesterday a change in some existing measures against Cuba, reversing several Trump-era restrictions. The U.S. government will now allow air travel between the United States and Cuban cities beyond Havana and allow for more remittances – although their scope is limited. While these measures are a welcome step in the right direction, they are politically shrouded in anti-Cuba hostility and the urgent necessity remains to fight for the total end to the U.S. blockade of the island. This announcement comes a few weeks after the U.S. embassy in Cuba resumed issuing visas for travel in May, for the first time in four years. The U.S. State Department will reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole, which would ...