[News] Cuba in the Eye of Washington’s Hurricane

Fri Oct 14 11:57:13 EDT 2022

counterpunch.org
<https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/10/14/cuba-in-the-eye-of-washingtons-hurricane/>
Cuba in the Eye of Washington’s Hurricane
Manolo De Los Santos - October 14, 2022
------------------------------

Photograph Source: NASA/GOES-16 – Public Domain

Hurricane Ian lashed
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at western Cuba on September 27, 2022. I waited desperately for a phone
call from my friends in Puerto Esperanza, a small fishing village on the
northern coast of Pinar del Río. Over a crackling phone line, my friends
told me that the hurricane had ripped off the roofs of their houses and had
cut their electricity supply. But they were safe. What comes next for them
and their recovery from the loss and devastation caused by the hurricane is
uncertain under the weight of a U.S. blockade
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that is now being overseen by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Since the Cuban Revolution triumphed
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in 1959, the United States has been at odds with the island’s independent
path. This led to the start
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of a blockade on all trading activities between Cuba and the United States
in February 1962, and the continued imposition
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of the blockade has put maximum pressure on the 11 million people who live
on the island. Cubans have been resilient while dealing with these
sanctions, which is “the longest embargo in modern history
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However, over the past five years, the United States has tightened its
blockade by putting in place 243 new sanctions
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reversing the process of normalization that began
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under former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2014 (and culminated in Obama’s
visit
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to Cuba in 2016). Despite Biden’s campaign
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promise to ensure a more balanced foreign policy toward Cuba, compared to
the approach followed by former President Donald Trump, Biden has increased
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pressure on the country.

*Maximum Pressure*

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Cuba was fortunate to have a robust
public health care system and an innovative biotechnological industry.
However, under Trump—and later Biden—sanctions put enormous pressure on
Cuba’s ability to respond to the pandemic. As the number of Delta variant
cases grew in Cuba, its only oxygen plant was rendered nonoperational
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due to the inability of the plant’s technicians to import spare parts
because of the U.S. blockade. As thousands of Cuban patients gasped for
air, oxygen had to be rationed. Washington refused
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to make an exception. Cuban scientists created
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five vaccine candidates; only after most Cubans were vaccinated with these
vaccines did Washington make an offer
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of donating U.S.-made vaccines to Cuba.

Back in 2017, the United States said that the Cuban government had used
sonic weapons to attack its embassy—a phenomenon
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called “Havana syndrome”—which was shown to be untrue. Nonetheless, it
served as a pretext for the United States to freeze relations with Cuba.
For example, tourism
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began to collapse, and the island lost revenue as more than 600,000
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people from the United States stopped traveling to Cuba annually. The U.S.
government’s sanctions under Trump led to Western Union’s
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seizing operations on the island in 2020, cutting off the ability of
families to send and receive remittances. Visa services were suspended
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by the U.S. Embassy in Havana, and the largest
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wave of irregular migration since 1980 began as Cubans were forced to trek
through Central America or across the Florida Straits to arrive in the
United States.

Cubans suffered through this tightened blockade with the U.S. offering no
respite. The gross domestic product of the country began to shrink
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as the government and other entities could no longer purchase food,
medicine, and oil because banks refused to handle these basic commercial
transactions.

*Using Pain to Put More Pressure*

On July 11, 2021, people across Cuba took to the streets to protest
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the difficult living conditions due to the scarcity brewed by the sanctions
imposed by Washington. The U.S. government, from Biden
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to the lowest employee at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, did not waste any
time before making a statement about the need to change the government in
Cuba in response to the protests. They tried
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to spin the Cuban people’s protests over sanctions-related deprivation into
an uprising for regime change, a core demand
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of a Miami mafia of Cuban exiles. The Cuban government was able to
withstand that attempt by being as forthright
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as possible with the people about the range of problems that they face.

The year 2022 has not been any easier for the Cuban people. In August, the
national energy grid began to suffer
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major signs of decay after years without repairs or renovations. Power
cuts, a stark reminder of the “special period” during the 1990s when Cuba
faced a similar
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power situation, have become ever-present from one end of the island to the
other. Some provinces go without electricity for eight to ten hours. Then
came the explosion
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of the Matanzas oil storage facility that left Cuba without urgently needed
fuel and resulted in dozens dying while fighting the fire that raged on for
five days. While Mexico and Venezuela immediately sent firefighters and
equipment, the United States could only contribute with technical advice
over the phone despite the call
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by U.S. activists, clergy, and intellectuals to provide more sizable aid.

Hurricane Ian’s assault on the island on September 27, 2022, has left
behind devastation
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with more than 50,000 homes damaged
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Cuba’s tobacco crop deeply impacted, and its electricity grid damaged
(although it is functional again for now).

*Washington’s Rigidity*

All eyes turned to Washington
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only to see whether it would send aid, which would be welcome, but also if
it would remove
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Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list and end the sanctions.
Cuba’s inclusion on the list had been a last-minute decision
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made by Trump as he was leaving the White House (despite Cuba’s recognized
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role in the Colombian peace process). These measures mean that banks in the
United States and elsewhere are reluctant to process any financial
transactions, including humanitarian donations, for the island. The United
States has a mixed record regarding humanitarian aid to Cuba.

Rather than lift the sanctions even for a limited period, the U.S.
government sat back and watched as mysterious forces from Miami unleashed a
torrent of Facebook and WhatsApp messages to drive desperate Cubans onto
the street. In Havana, a few hundred people spread
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across the city banged pots and pans and demanded water, electricity, and
food. Foreign journalists eagerly expected scenes of heavy repression and
mass arrests, but this time Cuba’s response was one closest to its
political tradition. Leaders of the Communist Party began to arrive at
protests to speak to the people. Angel Arzuaga Reyes, responsible for the
party’s international relations department, while speaking of his
experience in the Diez de Octubre neighborhood, said that in those tense
moments, promises or immediate solutions couldn’t be made, but explanations
and information could be given to all those protesting.

The Cuban people are not the kind to give up easily and have a history of
resilience. Many Cubans are facing the crisis by laughing and fighting
through it. Walking in Havana only a few days after the hurricane, the
signs of recovery were clear. Brigades of electricians working nonstop
reestablished power back in record time and volunteers have cleaned most of
the city leaving very little trace of Hurricane Ian’s destruction. After
his fourth visit to Pinar del Río since September 27, Cuban President
Miguel Díaz-Canel, surrounded by an anxious crowd, said
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“what we can’t do is surrender or remain with our arms crossed.” There is
yet much to do, but Cubans are determined to overcome all obstacles that
come their way.

*This article was produced by Globetrotter
<https://go.ind.media/e/546932/2022-10-12/rlh6rk/1165083007?h=m-75oi9nMOQ9vJbASS0VdpSgH94VRvM9sArZEPbRt18>.*

*Manolo De Los Santos is a researcher and a political activist. For 10
years, he worked in the organization of solidarity and education programs
to challenge the United States’ regime of illegal sanctions and blockades.
Based out of Cuba for many years, Manolo has worked toward building
international networks of people’s movements and organizations. In 2018, he
became the founding director of the People’s Forum
<https://go.ind.media/e/546932/2021-07-13/kl4qy9/871414862?h=4RirQm5ydPQLPEfeGf79hui_7X56bwTZ1t21QOewtWM>
in New York City, a movement incubator for working-class communities to
build unity across historic lines of division at home and abroad. He also
collaborates as a researcher with Tricontinental: Institute for Social
Research
<https://go.ind.media/e/546932/2021-07-13/kl4qyc/871414862?h=4RirQm5ydPQLPEfeGf79hui_7X56bwTZ1t21QOewtWM>
and is a Globetrotter/Peoples Dispatch fellow.*
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