Above photo: Entrance to Havana Bay, Cuba, Jan. 1, 2021. Twitter/ @RedTocororo.
Along his mandate (2017-2021), former President Donald Trump imposed over 240 unilateral measures against Cuba.
Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry’s official Johana Tablada on Wednesday informed that former U.S. President Donald Trump’s arbitrary sanctions against her country left damage of US$20 billion.
Trump, who concluded his presidential term on Wednesday, imposed over 240 unilateral measures against Cuba from 2017.
“He took advantage until the very last moment. Trump identified COVID-19 as an opportunity to assault Cuba with additional coercive measures, rather than allowing relief,” Tablada assured.
On Jan. 11, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Cuba’s inclusion on the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Early this month, he also informed on sanctions against Interior Minister Lazaro Alvarez and his family.
Washington attempted to discredit Cuba’s international medical cooperation and promoted the end of agreements with several Latin American countries.
The United States persecuted oil-related ships and companies to prevent Cuba from having access to fuel in 2019.
“There is a palpable damage to the Cuban people’s wellbeing because of measures that were exactly taken to cause harm,” Tablada said, assuring her country hopes to improve relations with the U.S. under the Biden administration.
The economic blockade against Cuba, in place since 1962, was eased in 2015 after diplomatic relations were restored by President Barack Obama’s administration (2009-2017). Biden was a vice president at the time.
But upon coming to power, Trump banned U.S. cruise ships from calling in Cuba, blacklisted companies and leaders, and prevented U.S. citizens from sending remittances to family members on the island, among other measures.
In an unprecedented move, he also reactivated Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which allowed U.S. citizens to sue companies that profit from property seized in Cuba. So far, 28 legal proceedings have been opened in U.S. courts.