Cuba
condemns in the most categorical terms the recent hostile escalation of the
United States government against Cuba. The measures announced on April 17th
reflect the ongoing and declared commitment of the current US government to
damage bilateral relations and expand its unilateral and illegal sanctions
against Cuba.
These are
actions that expand the economic and commercial blockade that has been in place
for almost six decades. Almost unanimously, member States of the United Nations
have repeatedly call for an end of this policy.
Based on the
strictest application of the Helms-Burton Act, they are aimed at further
reducing the very limited commercial exchange between the two nations and
specifically attacking the Cuban financial sector. They pursue, with a strong
extraterritorial claim, to harm entities and entrepreneurs from third countries
and threaten them with legal retaliations or denial of visas to them and their
families to enter the United States if they exercise their legitimate right to
develop business and investment relations with Cuba.
They also
seek to limit the ties of Cuban residents in the United States with their
country of origin and to cut as much as possible personal contacts between the
citizens of the two countries. Restrict the amount of the remittances and
possibilities for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba.
In 1996,
Cuba adopted a law that, among other principles, declared illegitimate the
Helms-Burton Act, and ensured the protection of foreign entrepreneurs and
investors. The economic blockade as a whole and the Helms-Burton Act in
particular, have been rejected by the international community in multiple
international and regional fora. There are clear and repeated pronouncements by
the UN, the CELAC, the AU, the EU, the ACP group, the ACS, just to mention a
few.
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They are
individuals with a long history of promoting extreme and aggressive positions
in U.S. foreign policy, and used to the unscrupulous and abundant use of lying
to promote specific interests. They clearly express contempt for international
law, the recognized practices governing international relations, and the rules
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The actions
and measures announced will have an undeniable economic effect on the Cuban
economy, on the development potential of the country and on the living
standards of the population. However, they will not stop Cuba's continued
development towards a more fair, prosperous and sustainable society. Nor will
they lead to any political concessions of the strong will of the Cuban people
to defend national sovereignty against the belligerent approach of the United
States.
Cuba calls for
the rejection of the international community to this new escalation of the
blockade and the hostility of the United States against the Cuban people. It
also calls for solidarity in the face of attempts to extend the blockade to the
jurisdiction of countries with which it develops normal, friendly and
cooperation-based bilateral relations. It expresses its willingness to
contribute to, as a whole, to protect in a legal and political way the
interests of companies, entities and individuals in any country that
legitimately develop commercial and
investment relations with Cuba.
Media Release
NZ Cuban. Monday, April 29th 2019
