The group’s missive laid 60 years of Cuban suffering squarely at the feet of the 1962 US embargo, declaring that Washington had
“forced pain and suffering on the people of Cuba by cutting off food, medicine and supplies.” The US policy has endured
“because [Cuba] has maintained its commitment to sovereignty and self-determination” ever since, the statement added, a commitment which by BLM’s calculations cost the country
“an estimated $130 billion.”
“Black and Brown” residents, heralding its history of
“demonstrat[ing] solidarity with oppressed peoples of African descent,” mentioning both South African freedom fighters and FBI-designated
Praising Cuba for its
“strong medical care and history of lending doctors and nurses to disasters around the world,” BLM pointed out that the money the country is forced to scrape together to survive around the embargo could help it procure medical gear and food production equipment.