CUBA IS ONE   /   Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On May 28, the United States Government finally announced a group of measures to put into effect its announcements of May 16, 2022.  The objective of this step, according to the text published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC ), is to favor the private sector in Cuba.

The measures are limited and do not touch the fundamental body of the blockade against Cuba or the additional sanctions that make up the maximum pressure policy. Once again, the U.S. government's decision rests on its own distorted vision of Cuban reality, by attempting to artificially separate the private sector from the public sector, when both are part of the Cuban business system and society as a whole.

With this announcement, the United States government intends to target only a segment of our population. The coercive measures that most affect the Cuban economy and public services today and that severely damage the well-being of our entire population are not eliminated or modified.

If the announced measures come to fruition, the United States seeks to put in an advantageous situation the private sector that has been legally established and has grown under the measures taken in a sovereign act by the government of Cuba in consultation with the Cuban people. The same has happened with Internet access established and expanded by Cuba despite the obstacles of the blockade and restrictions to prevent free access to hundreds of tools and websites.

The Government of the United States has been explicit in its intention to use this sector for political purposes against the Revolution, based on its objectives of regime change.

Although it is a capricious selectivity, both the public and private sectors will continue to suffer the consequences of the blockade and the absurd inclusion of Cuba on the list of States that supposedly sponsor terrorism.

The coercive measures that make up the economic blockade will remain in force with cruel effects on the entire Cuban population.

It is evident that the U.S. ratifies its willingness to punish the Cuban state sector, knowing that it provides essential services such as education, health, culture, sports and others to all Cubans, including the private sector; and that is the guarantee of social justice and equity among citizens.  For this reason, recent measures were adopted by the U.S. government to pursue Cuba's international medical cooperation and documents have been published that reveal that the commitment to deprive us of income and destabilize the country for political purposes of domination continues.

The Cuban government will study these measures and, if they do not violate national legislation and mean an opening that benefits the Cuban population, even if only a segment, it will not hinder their application.

May 28, 2024