The Cuban nation have expressed worry and disappointment in the American government over unexpected delay in lifting the long placed blockade which tends to disrupt Cuba’s economic and national development, as to also be able to freely associate and establish trade union with the American government as other developing countries do.

The blockade which violates the rights of the Cuban people with its repercussions on the most vulnerable social sector, that’s the Right to Health and Food, the Right to Education, Sports and Culture, and the Right to Development has been in existence for over 50years and still counting.

As part of Cuban’s thirst to lift this long existing barrier between their nation and other countries, annually the various Cuban embassies issue reports on this existed blockade where this year was not excepcional.

The report which presents the continue policy of the blockade, the blockade law, President Barrack Obama’s Executive measures and their limitations, Prerogatives of the U.S. President to continue amending the application of the blockade without the necessity of going to congress, Principal Blockade Measures Applied after December 17 of 2014, includes the repercussions on the foreign sector of the Cuban economy.

In this report, it demonstrated how the blockade constitutes the greatest obstacle for the development of all the potential of the economy and the wellbeing of the Cuban people, as well as for the economic, commercial and financial relations of Cuba with the United States and the rest of the world.

Speaking to Newslinegh on the issue, the Cuban Ambassador to Ghana Mr. Pedro Luis Despaigne stated that it takes only the help of the President of the United States to disintegrate this huge boundary placed on the Republic of Cuba.

In the period between April of 2015 and April of 2016 some results have been achieved in the bilateral relations between the United States and Cuba. It can particularly be indicated the re-establishing of diplomatic relations and the re-opening of embassies that were preceded by the just action of taking Cuba off the spurious list of States sponsoring terrorism, a list on which Cuba should never have been in the first place. He noted.

According to Mr. Despaigne, In March of 2016, during his visit to Cuba, the President of the United States of America Barack Obama acknowledged once more that the “embargo” policy towards the Island is obsolete and must be eliminated. In his speech at the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso on March 22nd, President Obama stressed in reference to the “embargo” that it “only harms the Cuban people instead of helping them” and he again called on the U.S. Congress to put an end to this policy.

In spite of this, He said the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba remains in force and the restrictions imposed by this policy continue being applied. During 2015 and 2016, the Departments of the Treasury and Commerce of the United States made several amendments to this policy’s regulations; which, even though they constitute positive steps, are not enough.

Despite the new scenario, on September 11th of 2015 President Obama again renewed sanctions against Cuba under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, constituting the foundation for the laws and regulations that make up the blockade, alleging foreign policy interests. Mr. Luis Despaigne emphasized.

He said this policy has continued to be toughened in its financial and extraterritorial dimensions. It can be seen in the imposition of million-dollar fines against banks and financial institutions for having relations with Cuba and in the persecution of Cuban international financial transactions.

Up until now, he said, the announced authorization of the use of the dollar in Cuba’s international transactions has not materialized, nor the possibility for U.S. banks to provide loans to Cuban importers of authorized U.S. products. Nor has the trepidation of financial institutions or that of the very U.S. suppliers diminished due to the risk of being fined for having transactions with Cuba, a country submitted to sanctions from the United States.

The report being presented herein explains the limited scope of measures adopted by the U.S. Executive and the spectrum of actions that he could yet take to eliminate the blockade. Moreover, there have been grouped many examples of the economic and social repercussions caused by its application from April of 2015 to April of 2016.

Reiterating that, the economic repercussions on the Cuban people due to the application of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba during the aforementioned period, and considering the depreciation of the dollar in regards to the price of gold on the international market amount to $753,688,000,000 in spite of the reduced price of gold as compared to the previous period.

Since this policy began to be applied over 50 years ago, the blockade has caused damages for over $125,873,000,000 at current prices. He revealed.

To be able to move forward in the process towards the normalization of bilateral relations with the United States, He said, about which the government of Cuba has reiterated its willingness on the basis of sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and absolute respect for its independence, undoubtedly this would require the unilateral and unconditional lifting by the government of the United States of the economic, commercial and financial blockade applied against Cuba.

Stating that, it is essential that the 24 resolutions adopted by the international community in the United Nations General Assembly be respected; its Member States ask for that absurd policy to end.

The blockade against Cuba should never have existed and it must cease once and for all. He urged.

By: Blessing Roselyn Boateng

Exclusively Newslinegh