Although the Joe Biden administration ordered a review of the impact of unilateral coercive measures in confronting the pandemic, the US government still maintains the sanctions against Cuba today without modifying them.
This is indicated in a press release released by the island’s mission to the United Nations, which exposes how that Caribbean country was excluded from Washington’s review exercise.
The statement details that, unlike other countries, no modification to the current measures in relation to the island was announced, thus ignoring the damage caused by the blockade, particularly reinforced under the effects of the health crisis.
“The US blockade, together with the multidimensional crisis caused by Covid-19, led the Cuban state to face enormous obstacles in obtaining the essential basic resources that would guarantee the functioning of the national health system,” the text states.
Only in reagents, medical equipment, means of protection, expendable material and medicines, the largest of the Antilles invested in 2020 some 102 million dollars not foreseen in the economy plan, the statement exposes.
In the first half of 2021, this investment amounted to 82 million dollars, amid obstacles to access to suppliers, obstacles to banking operations, high prices and other inconveniences derived from the United States blockade, adds the text.
In addition, he continues, it is estimated that in total, from the start of the pandemic until mid-2021, Cuba has invested some 184 million dollars above what was foreseen in the year’s plan to combat Covid-19.
Along with the multiple restrictions of the US blockade, the island faces the intimidating effect of the persecution against its financial transactions abroad, denounces the mission, which generates significant additional expenses, multiple deficiencies and shortages in the national health system.
For example, the statement details, in March 2021 the negotiations for the shipment of a container of disposable syringes to Cuba were interrupted, since the British bank HSBC informed the supplier that it could not carry out payment operations destined for the island.
In June 2021, he adds, the multinational company Merck, based in Germany, canceled several contracts with Cuban entities and this affected the entry of essential raw materials for the production of drugs and the work of laboratories linked to the production of immunizers. against Covid-19.
For the Finlay Vaccine Institute, producer of the Cuban immunogens Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus, the impossibility of accessing resources with more than 10 percent of US components has generated difficulties in some 32 operations.
Faced with this situation, the Cuban mission to the United Nations highlights, Cuba has to acquire numerous supplies through third parties, which generates significant increases in unit prices and freight.
