Havana, April 26(RHC)-- Cuba’s ambassador to Canada, Josefina Vidal, has denounced the extraterritorial, illegal nature of Washington’s anti-Cuba Helms-Burton Law.

In statements to CBC TV, Vidal insisted that Washington’s  activation of Title III of the infamous piece of legislation and the new package of anti-Cuba measures announced by the Trump Administration will not only hurt Cuba, its people and economy, but also the economic interests of the United States, those of U.S. allies like Canada, and other nations that have legitimate business with Cuba.

The senior Cuban diplomat reaffirmed Cuba’s stance in favor of peace and against coercive, unilateral sanctions by any state against another. She also renewed Cuba’s unwavering support for the Venezuelan people and their legitimate leader Nicolás Maduro.

Canada and Cuba have long maintained fruitful, mutually beneficial relations, as Ottawa has always refused to back the aggressive, hostile anti-Cuba policies of successive U.S. administrations.

Canada is Cuba’s main market of tourists, and it also has large business and investment projects on the Island, which would be affected due to the extraterritorial nature of the Helms-Burton law.

Canadian press have published reactions by Canadian authorities opposing Washington’s attempts to further tighten the blockade policy on Cuba. This included harsh criticism by Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland on April 17th -- the same day that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security advisor John Bolton disclosed new aggressive measures, aimed at suffocating the Cuban economy.

In 1992, Canada enacted the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Order, known as the “1992 Blocking Order”. Its intent is to block Washington’s extraterritorial Cuban Assets Control Regulation (CACR), which seeks to prevent, impede or reduce trade or commerce between Cuba and third countries, including Canada.

The original Order was amended in 1996 to cover all extraterritorial U.S. measures taken at all levels of government, aimed at impeding trade between Canada and Cuba.