US blockade to Cuba is an act of genocide, ambassador says

The US blockade to Cuba is an act of genocide and today generates a severe social and economic impact on the whole society, the Cuban ambassador to Panama, Victor Cairo said.

A few days before the UN General Assembly votes on a Cuban resolution to demand the end of the US hostility, the diplomat told La Estrella de Panamá newspaper that it is an act of war in violation of international law.

The extraterritorial effects of the blockade limit Cuba’s commercial activity with the rest of the world and restrict the actions of foreign companies, he added on what he also considered to be an inhumane policy that violates the sovereignty of the Cuban State and the United Nations Charter itself.

In that sense, he recalled that in 2019, after measures adopted by the government of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), 14 shipping companies were sanctioned by the United States, among them, five Panamanian-flagged ships to which they applied similar measures for carrying fuel to Cuba.

The ambassador also denounced that famous European banks, hotel and tourism companies from Spain, France and Germany, among others, have been sanctioned for their business relations with Cuba.

It is not only the sanction, Washington instills fear to hinder any relationship with Cuba, he further said.

He also mentioned that the OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] website lists 116 Panamanian or Panamanian-based companies sanctioned, 17 of which are linked to Cuba.