Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador delivers a speech on the third anniversary of his presidential election victory at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
MEXICO CITY, July 12 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba should be ended to help its people, after the biggest anti-government protests in decades broke out on the island fueled by anger over shortages in basic goods.
"The truth is that if one wanted to help Cuba, the first thing that should be done is to suspend the blockade of Cuba as the majority of countries in the world are asking," Lopez Obrador told a news conference.
"That would be a truly humanitarian gesture," he added. "No country in the world should be fenced in, blockaded."
Thousands of Cubans on Sunday joined street demonstrations from Havana to Santiago chanting "freedom", and calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down. read more
Lopez Obrador, one of the most prominent leftists in Latin America, expressed his solidarity with the Cuban people and urged countries not to intervene in the Communist-run country, nor to exploit the situation for political ends.
Urging a peaceful resolution to the protests, Lopez Obrador said Mexico would be ready to send medicines, vaccines and food to Cuba if its government requested it.
The protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the fall of former ally the Soviet Union in the 1990s and a surge in coronavirus cases, with people angry over goods shortages, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic.
Reporting by Dave Graham Editing by Alistair Bell Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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redcapmilk on July 12nd, 2021 at 23:10 UTC »
99.9 of all of us could not even tell you who the leader of Cuba currently is, but we still see lots of opinions.
maisaktong on July 12nd, 2021 at 16:37 UTC »
One issue, that most people ignore, is how the embargo is being enforced. Presently, the embargo is enforced mainly through six statutes:
the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917. the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. the Cuban Assets Control Regulations of 1963. the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992. the Helms–Burton Act of 1996. the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.To lift the embargo, USA need to repeal or amend these laws which require the powers of U.S. Congress. Without support from the Congress, there are only few actions which could be done by the president.
YYssuu on July 12nd, 2021 at 15:30 UTC »
Literally every country in the world has asked for an end of the trade embargo on Cuba except for the US, Israel and some Pacific Islands. It is the longest embargo in modern history and a relic of the past, its first iteration dating to March 14, 1958, more than 60 years now, and just 13 years after WW2 ended. It is so old 90% of the current global population was born after the embargo.