Washington, August 10 (RHC)-- Artists, intellectuals, politicians, scientists, activists, and religious leaders sent a letter to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Wednesday to demand the end of the blockade against Cuba amid the devastating fire in a fuel depot.
"Sanctions feed the fire," said the signatories of the letter, among them US intellectual Noam Chomsky, British politician Jeremy Corbyn, musician Roger Waters, philosopher Judith Butler, and the Afro-American Cornel West, known for his fight in favor of human rights.
In the text, they make an urgent public plea to reject the cruel policies implemented by the Donald Trump administration that affect the Cuban people.
The blaze occurred in Matanzas's industrial zone, 100 kilometers from Havana, the largest in the island's history when Cuba s going through an energy crisis, which will worsen even more with this situation, the letter states.
Likewise, it specifies that the resources the government will be forced to dedicate to disaster response will also hurt the general well-being of Cubans amid the more than 200 coercive measures imposed by Trump and still in force.
In the message addressed to Biden, they assure that despite the words of condolence and the offer of technical advice, the United States government has done very little to help the Cuban people in their moment of greatest need.
Even though the US embassy in Havana clarified that the law authorizes US entities and organizations to provide aid and response to disasters, the Trump-era measures prevent urgently needed assistance from reaching Cuba, they say.
It is excessive, especially during a tragic accident, to block remittances and the use of global financial institutions by Cuba, necessary to import food and medicine, noted the letter published on the Let Cuba Live platform.
Signing personalities ask Washington to lift all sanctions that prevent Cuba from receiving, directly or indirectly, medical, humanitarian, environmental, or financial aid and stress that this includes removing Cuba from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
So far, almost 30 personalities have signed the document in solidarity with the Caribbean nation, whose inhabitants have suffered since Friday, August 5, the consequences of an electrical discharge that hit an oil deposit, which generated a fire of grand proportions.
Combined forces of the Ministry of the Interior, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the CubaPetróleo company, and the Institute of Hydraulic Resources, together with Mexican and Venezuelan specialists, are working intensely to extinguish the fire.
According to the authorities, the Cuban government has not refused any help to fight the flames, and they warn that "in the context of sincere offers, campaigns to instill hatred and discredit do not cease."
