U.S. political and other leaders call to end the blockade

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 4 (ACN) Political, religious and civil rights leaders from the state of Maryland, United States, asked Senator Ben Cardin—considered a key player in the Obama Administration’s rapprochement to Cuba—to use his clout as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to end the blockade of Cuba.

In a letter to Cardin, more than 100 groups and individuals made the case that U.S. sanctions on Cuba are a primary cause of dire humanitarian and economic conditions on the island.

“While US-Cuba policy is not in your hands alone, there is no doubt that the Chair of the SFRC holds unique influence, both to pass legislation and to influence executive action,” they wrote. “This policy been in place for over sixty years. In that time, its primary effect has been the mass suffering of the Cuban people. (…) As communities of faith, morally opposed to the use of economic warfare against our Cuban brothers and sisters; as diaspora groups concerned about the displacement of people from their homes; as humanitarians, academics, activists and human rights advocates; we say unequivocally that it is time to end the embargo on Cuba.”

Such request comes at a time when Cuba is facing an economic crisis aggravated by U.S. unilateral measures and by its inclusion in the list of state sponsors of terrorism, which estranges the Caribbean nation from most international financial operations.