Dozens of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Donald Trump criticizing the country's blockade of Cuba, saying it is "exacerbating a humanitarian crisis" and called for a "new approach."
Led by Rep. Gregory Meeks and Senator Tim Kaine, the letter was signed by 50 representatives and senators. It claimed that "for 64 years, the United States has relied on the flawed premise that maximum pressure would yield political change on the island," but that approach has not worked.
The letter goes on to claim that the current pressure strategy, which is "restricting access to energy and health care is contrary to American values."
"By engineering an accelerated energy collapse, your administration has shifted responsibility for Cuba's suffering away from the Cuban government and squarely onto the United States," the document claims.
It concludes by saying that as conditions deteriorate, "the most vulnerable" are "bearing the heaviest burden." "With hospitals unable to stay online due to fuel shortages, patients are being turned away for treatment, and people will die if you do not reverse course immediately," lawmakers finished.
The U.S. did not enforce a fuel blockade this week, allowing the country to receive hundreds of thousands of oil barrels from a Russian vessel.
Trump said on Sunday that he didn't mind Cuba getting the shipment because they "need to survive." "If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it's Russia or not," Trump added, saying that the country is "finished." "Whether or not they get a boat of oil, it's not going to matter."
Days later, Moscow announced it is preparing a new shipment. "A Russian ship went through the blockade. Now a second one is being loaded up. We won't abandon the Cuban people," said Energy Minister Serguei Tsiviliov during an even in the province of Kazan this week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected claims about the U.S. taking "punitive" action against the Caribbean country, saying the only change is that Havana is "not getting free Venezuelan oil anymore," in reference to the capture of Nicolas Maduro and the interim government's shift towards a friendlier policy towards the U.S.
However, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed Rubio over the remarks, listing several actions the Trump administration has taken towards Havana, claiming all of them amount to punitive action.
"What is the economic blockade, if not a punitive action? What is the threat against any country that exports fuels to Cuba, if not a punitive action? What is the financial persecution of Cuban transactions in any country, the restrictions imposed on merchant vessels touching Cuban ports and the ban on US citizens' travels to Cuba, if not punitive actions?" he said in a social media publication.
