On September 18, Prewsident Biden extended the U.S. embargo of Cuba for another year, saying it “was in the national interest” of the U.S.
Just six days earlier, Cuban “Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said at a press conference that, without this US policy, the island’s gross domestic product would have grown by 8%.” However, he did not note that “in almost ten years, donations from that country to the Island totaled 153,821,102 dollars.”
Nor did the Cuban government mention that in 2023 U.S. exports to Cuban authorities and private enterprises amounted to $342,607,027.
======================
Biden extends US embargo against Cuba for another year, Diario de Cuba (Sep. 19, 20240
COMMENT: Federal Register on U.S. Continuing Cuba Embargo for Another Year
On September 13, 2024, President Biden issued Presidential Determination No. 2024-11 that stated the following:
“Continuation of the Exercise of certain Authorities Under the Trading with th Enemy Act; Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the Secretary of the Treasury” that was filed on September 17, 2024. It stated the following:
• “Under section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223 (91 Stat. 1625; 50 U.S.C. 4305 note), and a previous determination on September 13, 2023 (88 FR 64347, September 18, 2023), the exercise of certain authorities under the Trading With the Enemy Act is scheduled to expire on September 14, 2024.”
• “I hereby determine that the continuation of the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba for 1 year is in the national interest of the United States.”
• “Therefore, consistent with the authority vested in me by section 101(b) of Public Law 95-223, I continue for 1 year, until September 14, 2025, the exercise of those authorities with respect to Cuba, as implemented by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR part 515.”
• “The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.”
This is the only document on this subject that could be found on the Department of the Treasuury website. Nothing could be found on the White House and State Department websites. Nor has there been any news on the continuation of the U.S. embargo of Cuba in the major U.s. newspapers. The only report of same has been in Diario de Cuba cited in the above post.
COMMENT: Granma Editorial: The blockade is a global embarrassment for the United States
On September 22, Granma, the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Pary of Cuba, published its editorial condemning the U.S. extension of its embargo [blockade] of Cuba for another year. Here is what it said.
“It is not news that the United States Government has extended, for another year, the validity of the law that establishes the basis of the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba. It would be news if it did not do so, because that is already on the agenda of the elected president, regardless of the winning party. There is only one political basis against Cuba: the imperial one.”
“Last week, Joe Biden had to play the same role as his predecessors, in a ridiculous and archaic scene, in the 21st century, by keeping alive the Trading with the Enemy Act, approved by the Federal Congress on October 6, 1917. This gives the Head of the White House the power to restrict trade with countries “hostile” to the United States, and the possibility of applying economic sanctions in time of war or in any other period of national emergency, and prohibits trade with the enemy or allies of the enemy during armed conflicts.”
“It was under this legislative text, the oldest of its kind, that the regulations for the Control of Cuban Assets were put into practice in 1963, after the blockade against Cuba was imposed in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy. He acted under the umbrella of this norm.”
“The Trading with the Enemy Act is the cushion for this murderous policy against the Cuban people, which seeks to kill by hunger, unrest and chaos. This regulation is supposed to be applied when Washington considers a nation a national security problem, and so far it has not issued any document against Cuba in this regard, or when there is a military conflict, which does not exist, because the bombs are launched far away, in the Middle East, but never near its walls.”
“However, the Caribbean island is the only country to which the US government applies the outdated legislation. Previously, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Vietnam were also subject to it.”
“This text is part of the legal framework of the blockade, which includes others, such as the Foreign Assistance Act (1961), the Export Administration Act (1979), the Torricelli Act (1992), the Helms-Burton Act (1996) and the Export Administration Regulations (1979).”
“According to the report presented by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, this monstrosity caused Cuba, between March 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024, material damages estimated at around 5,056.8 million dollars, which represents an approximate impact of more than 575,683 dollars for each hour of blockade.”
“The United States governments have filled themselves with laws against a small country that has made them go through the world’s embarrassment of not surrendering at their feet. This was stated on the social network x by the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who expressed that, ‘despite the serious damage caused, they continue to fail in the objective of destroying the Revolution.’”
========
Granma Editorial: The blockade is a global embarassment for the United States, Granma (Sept. 22, 2024), https://www.granma.cu/mundo/2024-09-22/el-bloqueo-es-un-bochorno-mundial-para-estados-unidos-22-09-2024-21-09-21