The International community rejected for its sixteen consecutive time the United States policy towards Cuba, 6 days after President George Bush made statements that evidence an unprecedented escalation in the US government’s efforts to conquer the Cuban people by hunger and disease, and to bring about a regime change in Cuba, even by force.
Eugenio Martinez, Cuban Ambassador to Belize, declared that “notwithstanding the international isolation of his policy proven by the adoption today by 184 countries members of the General Assembly of the United Nations, of a resolution demanding the lifting of the blockade on Cuba, President Bush called last Wednesday for the re-conquering of Cuban territory by force.”
Last year, 183 States, including Belize, voted in favor of a similar resolution. But the United States ignoring these claims, as well as the US domestic opinion, and has reinforced the blockade against Cuba during 2007, which, as a consequence, increased in excess of $89 billion US dollars the estimate of economic damage suffered by the Cuban people over the last 46 years.
Ambassador Martínez declared that Washington’s punitive act against Cuba has extraterritorial elements such as the prohibition of US subsidiaries in Third World countries from dealing in any way with firms in Cuba or to foreign firms from exporting to the United States products of Cuban origin, or products whose processing involves the use of any component of that origin; the ban of Third World countries’ firms from selling to Cuba goods or services whose technology contains more than 10% of US components, regardless of whether their owners are nationals of the country concerned; and the prohibition of vessels carrying goods to or from Cuba from entering US ports regardless of their country of registration.
Between May, 2006, and May, 2007, at least 30 countries were affected by the extraterritorial nature of the US sanctions policy, including Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Finland, Japan, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland. A large number of Cuba’s traditional customers and suppliers have been obliged to break off trading or financial relations with Cuba following their takeover by or merger with a US company.
More than 20 banks in Third World countries have bowed to US extraterritorial pressures. Their executives have been obliged to accept these impositions and withdraw services provided to Cuban nationals and firms, for fear of severe reprisals by the Bush administration.