HAVANA (AP) 鈥� Four Democratic members of U.S. Congress who traveled to this weekend described the energy embargo imposed on the island by U.S. President Donald Trump as turning the island into a 鈥渟ilent Gaza.鈥�
The U.S. implemented the energy embargo in of Venezuela’s then-President and that sell fuel to the island. The measures have exacerbated a caused by previous sanctions and failed domestic policies, such as monetary unification.
Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Teresa Leger-Fern谩ndez of New Mexico, Maxine Dexter of Oregon and Delia Catalina Ram铆rez of Illinois arrived Thursday for a visit that included meeting with and lasted until Monday. This is the second trip by representatives in three months.
They also met with ministers, medical professionals, and business leaders and toured the streets of Havana, they told journalists. However, they clarified that there are currently no talks between Washington and Havana when asked about progress in the bilateral dialogue to lift the energy embargo.
鈥淚 think (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio is making this personal and not professional,鈥� Pocan said.
Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants and grew up in Miami, where he began his political career under the strong influence of anti-Castro exile groups.
Both governments have acknowledged on several occasions that there has been , but it’s unclear when the two countries last met. Neither country has offered details on the talks.
Recently, the grandson of the Col. Ra煤l Guillermo Rodr铆guez Castro, offered himself as an intermediary with Trump. He on the sidelines of a Caribbean Community summit in St. Kitts in February.
Trump and Rubio have indicated that they hope the embargo will strangle the island鈥檚 government, which they accuse of being inefficient. Cuban authorities have denounced it as collective punishment.
On the streets, the consequences are palpable: blackouts lasting more than 20 hours a day, limited public transportation, flight cancellations, a drop in tourism, reduced working hours and a general paralysis of domestic life.
Lawmakers condemned the impact of the energy blockade. According to Pocan, someone he spoke with in Cuba described the current situation as a 鈥渟ilent Gaza,鈥� which he considered an 鈥渁pt description.鈥�
鈥淭here may not be bombings, but there are certainly conditions that prevent people from going about their daily lives. They can鈥檛 go to work, they can鈥檛 preserve their food, they can鈥檛 access medical supplies, or live as they did before,鈥� he said.
Leger-Fern谩ndez said it “doesn’t make any sense at all to force a country to suffer.”
Dexter 鈥� who is also a trained physician 鈥� and Ram铆rez said they will seek to promote amendments in Congress to mitigate the health impact and prevent further action by Trump without legislative authorization, such as the armed operations that he repeatedly threatened.
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