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Extraterritorial laws strengthen
blockade
A
report by Cuba to be presented before the United
Nations indicates that the continued application of
the extraterritorial laws of the U.S. blockade
against Cuba strengthens this unilateral policy,
rejected by the international community.
The report entitled “The need to end the economic,
commercial and financial blockade imposed by the
United States on Cuba,” released by Ministry of
Foreign Relations, will be voted on in the UN, in
October.
The document emphasizes that although Washington
continues to refer to the “easing” of the aggressive
policy, it insists on sanctioning third countries
for maintaining normal relations with Cuba; the
first violation of International Law according to
the United Nations Charter. The report also states
that the blockade responds to the intrinsic
hegemonic policies of the U.S. government, which
dictate laws they then try to enforce in other
countries.
The document cites as an example, that since January
2009 through June 2014, Barack Obama’s
administration has forced 36 U.S. and foreign
companies to pay fines of almost 2.6 billion
dollars, for trading with Cuba and other countries.
Among other sanctions, the document highlights that
on November 26, 2013, the Cuban Interests Section in
Washington announced the temporary suspension of its
consular services given U.S. bank M&T’s refusal to
process transactions for Cuban diplomatic missions
in the U.S. In December 2013, the Cuban diplomatic
office reported that despite intense negotiations,
it has been unable to find a bank based in the U.S.
to take on its banking operations, a situation which
continues to date.
According to MINREX, the actions of the U.S.
government confirm that it has taken no steps toward
ending the policy, which has been imposed on Cuba
for more than 55 years, and which violates the
sovereign rights of many other countries given its
extraterritorial character. The U.S. blockade on
Cuba is not, therefore, solely a bilateral issue
concerning Cuba and the U.S.
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