Cuba to Denounce Damages Caused by the Blockade at the 21st Civil Society Forum

The Cuban United Nations Association (ACNU) will hold the 21st Cuban Civil Society Forum Against the Blockade on October 24, addressing a policy that violates fundamental human rights and continues to hinder the nation’s development.

Under the theme “The Devastating Impact of the Economic, Commercial, and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America Against Cuba on Organizations and Other Actors of Cuban Civil Society,” the forum seeks to deepen the analysis of the human, social, and economic consequences that the U.S. blockade has inflicted on the daily lives of Cubans.

This forum is part of a series of activities organized annually by Cuban civil society in connection with the United Nations General Assembly’s vote on the resolution calling for an end to the blockade. Its main objective is to strengthen a space for reflection, denunciation, and mobilization.

According to official data, between March 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, the economic siege caused material damages and losses estimated at 7.556 billion dollars. The accumulated losses suffered by the Caribbean nation over more than six decades of blockade amount to 170.677 billion dollars at current prices and, when measured at the value of gold, to 2.103 trillion dollars.

When presenting a new report in September on the damages caused by the blockade, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated that the psychological impact of the U.S. government’s hostile policy on Cuban families is impossible to quantify. “More than 80 percent of Cuban men and women were born after the blockade began; the consequences of this policy are dramatically evident in the shortages our population faces,” he emphasized. “This reality is undeniable, it is tangible,” he remarked.