MEPs denounce the extraterritorial nature of the US blockade against Cuba

Members of the European Parliament and of the delegation of the Left Group of that legislative body denounced today the extraterritorial nature of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government on Cuba, which has affected the official trip of several members of the European Parliament and officials to the Caribbean country.

The National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba pointed out the consternation expressed by eleven members of the European Parliament at the refusal of the CWT Travel Agency, the official service provider for the European Parliament, to book the trip of a delegation that will visit this nation in the coming days, under the argument that the agency belongs to a U.S. company.

This action shows another manifestation of the criminal blockade of the United States against Cuba, which continues being an unacceptable coercive measure against a sovereign State, adopted unilaterally and extraterritorially, in clear violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and International Law, they state in a letter addressed to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

The members of the European Parliament condemn the aggressive tightening of the U.S. blockade, with the imposition of more sanctions during the Trump administration, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and pointed out that the current U.S. executive has kept them in force.

They acknowledge that despite that hostile policy, Cuba offered medical support to other countries, faithful to its vocation of international solidarity.

The European Union and its Member States are compelled to adopt a clear condemnation of the US policy of meddling and aggression against Cuba and to call for the elimination of the criminal blockade, which constitutes a direct attack on the sovereignty of the Caribbean country and violates the rights of its people, by trying to prevent economic and social development, including access to essential goods such as health, food, education, among others, they said.

The letter, also sent to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel; to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell; and to the Secretary General of the European Parliament, Klaus Welle, was published on the web page of the Left Group in the European Parliament.