Havana, February 4 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez demanded an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade the United States has imposed on the island for almost six decades, the main obstacle to the Caribbean nation's development.
The head of state recalled on Twitter the officialization of the policy on February 3, 1962, through Executive Order 3447, signed by then-President John F. Kennedy.
Likewise, he pointed out the tightening of the siege by subsequent administrations and expressed confidence at the end of what is considered a violation of human rights.
"Fifty-nine years ago, Kennedy signed the proclamation that inaugurated the blockade on trade relations with Cuba. Other administrations deepened it. The humane thing would be to lift it, he wrote.
According to Cuban authorities, the accumulated damages in six decades amount to 144.4 billion dollars.
Between April 2019 and March 2020, the U.S. action caused losses in the order of 5.5 billion, a record figure for one year.
Authorities denounced the intensification of hostility amid the Covid-19 pandemic since the U.S. blockade prevented Cuba from acquiring medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and technologies necessary to face the health crisis.
There is a worldwide rejection of that policy, expressed in the 28 consecutive votes called, almost unanimously, for its elimination in the United Nations General Assembly.