I just returned from Cuba, and I’m still processing what I witnessed. The situation is worse than the headlines convey. People are suffering. Cubans I spoke with told me that while life was already hard before, the past few months — since the U.S. imposed its oil blockade — have been the worst they have experienced in decades.
Blackouts have become a way of life. People race to cook, do laundry, and charge their devices during brief bursts of electricity, while food spoils in their powerless refrigerators. Trash piles up on the streets, and people are using wood fires just to heat water. Black-market gas prices are approaching $40 a gallon. As one community doctor put it: “A salary is barely enough for breakfast. It’s a luxury to buy a cabbage.”
The devastation doesn’t stop there: the blockade has brought Cuba’s once-celebrated health care system to its knees. Cuban doctors say that rapidly deteriorating conditions at hospitals and clinics are causing deaths that would otherwise be preventable. Surgeries are being canceled, chemotherapy and dialysis treatments are being interrupted, and many ambulances sit idle because drivers can’t find gas. Pharmacies are largely empty. Medicine production has been mostly halted because factories run on diesel. Vaccine supplies for more than 30,000 children have been delayed.
You may have seen recent reports that the Trump administration allowed a Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba. This is a welcome, if minimal, reprieve for the Cuban people. But make no mistake: this was a one-time gesture, not a policy shift. And the threat of military intervention remains very much on the table.
Congress must act. That’s where you come in.
Take Action
Call and email your senators and representative and demand they support legislation to prevent U.S. military action in Cuba and end the embargo once and for all! Use the buttons below to take action now:
✉️ Click here to send a message to your senators and representative.
📞 Click here to look up your legislators’ phone numbers. Call and use these scripts:
For Senators:
“My name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR CITY]. I’m calling to urge [Senator NAME] to vote YES on Sen. Kaine’s War Powers Resolution — that is, S.J.Res.124 — to stop the United States from going to war with Cuba. Congress must reassert its constitutional power over military action. Additionally, I urge the senator to support Sen. Wyden’s bill, S.136, to lift the trade embargo on Cuba. Thank you.”
For Representatives:
“My name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR CITY]. I’m calling to urge [Representative NAME] to vote YES on Rep. Velázquez’s War Powers Resolution — that is, H.J.Res.153 — to stop the United States from going to war with Cuba. I also urge the representative to co-sponsor Rep. Jayapal’s resolution, H.R. 8103, to prevent the use of funds for military action against Cuba. Congress must reassert its constitutional power over military action. Finally, I want to ask the representative to support Rep. McGovern’s bill, H.R.7521, to lift the trade embargo on Cuba. Thank you.”
Want to do even more?
On Tuesday, April 14th, LAWG is joining CODEPINK and other organizations for a Cuba Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. Together, we are bringing as many people as possible to Congress to demand that our elected officials support policies that prioritize diplomacy and human dignity over economic warfare and cruelty.
🏛️ Click here to register for Cuba Advocacy Day on April 14th. (Make sure you follow the instructions on the page!)
Congress has the power to stop a military escalation and end the inhumane embargo on Cuba — and you have the power to move Congress. Send the email. Make the call. Join us on the Hill. The Cuban people are counting on us.
In solidarity,
Andrea for the LAWG Team
P.S. Join us for an upcoming webinar, Cuba Under Siege: What Happens Next?, with Rafael Hernández, leading Cuban scholar and editor of Revista Temas. The event, sponsored by MAPA, will be on April 8th at 8 pm EST.
The post Tell Congress: No War, No Embargo! appeared first on Latin America Working Group.
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