Harry Targ
Cuba has been victimized by a United States blockade since 1962, sometimes called an “embargo,” that has included a unilateral ban on trade with Cuba. In addition, US policy since President Trump came in office has included pressuring other countries to suspend all commerce with the island nation. Travel to Cuba is heavily regulated. Also, Trump put Cuba on the “state sponsor of terrorism” list to further restrict Cuba’s access to loans from the World Bank and other financial institutions and the ability of other nations to engage commercially with the island. In a word, United States policy toward Cuba is designed to “starve” the Cuban people. And while presidential candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign promised to end Trump’s vicious policies he has not done so.
To protest these brutal US policies toward Cuba Wisconsin
Peace Action, paralleling weekend actions occurring around the nation, devoted
its weekly “Stand for Peace” rally on June 24 to demand an end to the Blockade
of Cuba and particularly to take Cuba off the terrorism list. The Milwaukee
rally was organized in collaboration with the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize
Relations With Cuba and the Milwaukee chapter of the Party for Socialism and
Liberation (PSL).
Thirty activists stood with signs at four corners of a busy
Milwaukee intersection calling for the normalizing of relations with Cuba,
taking Cuba off the terrorism list, and reminding passersby that Cuba, contrary
to the US, has a free, sophisticated health care system available to all.
Other Stand for Peace activists carried their placards calling for cuts in
military spending and urging the United States to exert its influence to end
the fighting in Ukraine.
The Wisconsin Cuba Coalition and PSL have worked diligently
to encourage Milwaukeeans to write President Biden, urging him for starters to
take Cuba off the terrorism list. In part, the letter says that “leaving Cuba
on this list is indefensible, as Cuba works to recover and reboot its economy
after the Covid-19 pandemic…The world community recognizes that Cuba has a long
history of providing healthcare and saving lives around the world. Cuba has
nothing to do with ‘sponsoring terror’.”
To find more information about the letter and joining in the
campaign to normalize relations with Cuba
go to www.WICuba.org or write WICubaCoalition@gmail.com
The Wisconsin Cuba Coalition and the Party for Liberation
and Socialism will be sponsoring a “Healthcare for All, in Cuba and the US”
film and discussion, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 6 pm. at the Mitchell Street
Library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell Street, Milwaukee. Everyone in the area is
welcome to attend.
