“Despite the measures announced by President Barack Obama on December 17, 2014 and its declared willingness to get involved in a debate with Congress to lift the blockade, the laws and regulations holding this policy continue in force and are applied rigorously by US government agencies,” said Rodriguez in a press conference.
Rodriguez presented the report on the resolution 69/5 of the UN General Assembly titled ‘Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America on Cuba,’ a policy that has been in force for over half a century.
“Despite the new situation, in the period 2014-2015 the blockade has remained tightened in its financial and extra-territorial nature, which can be seen through the millions of dollars in fines imposed against banks and financial institutions as a result of the persecution of Cuban financial transactions,” says the text.
Rodriguez said that this document, already circulating among UN member countries, will be discussed and subject to vote in the General Assembly on October 27.
On 23 previous occasions, the text has been overwhelmingly backed by the international community and has been termed absurd, illegal and morally unsustainable.
Cuba's top diplomat said this US policy of blockade has caused the Island 833.755 billion USD in damages.
He said the document has been updated and now has two paragraphs about the resumption of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, though it notes with concern that the economic sanctions remain in force.
In this regard, Rodriguez said that “We appreciate that Obama has made executive decisions to modify some aspects of bilateral relations, but we could not say, by the facts, that the implementation of the blockade has been modified.”
He said this policy is a unilateral action applied by the United States that has affected the Cuban people economically and financially and therefore, ‘it must be unilaterally lifted’.
sgl/rma/ro/ale
PL-69/MNA
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