Letters

I read the viewpoint “Cuba Teeters on the Brink of Collapse” [Opinion, December 12], and I didn’t find any mention of the 64-year-old embargo on Cuba.

The embargo was designed in 1960 to bring hunger and misery to the Cuban people, with the expectation that it would lead to the overthrow of the Cuban government. It hasn’t worked — only the hunger and misery has worked.

I witnessed the life of the Cubans on my numerous trips to Cuba doing mission work with the First Presbyterian Church. We have lived in their homes and in their church, experiencing their way of life and walking on foot with them. They are a giving, warm and peaceful people who are at the same time are living under an economic embargo and sanctions that are greatly affecting their lives.

The writer briefly mentioned the inclusion of Cuba on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. President Barack Obama took Cuba off that list when he opened up relations with Cuba during his presidency. However, in the last few days of his first term, President Donald Trump returned Cuba (despite objections from the State Department) back to the list.

A country on that list faces significant ramifications, including severe restrictions on foreign aid, a ban on arms sales, heightened control of exports and other economic sanctions. All this essentially isolates Cuba from the international financial system and hinders its ability to conduct normal trade with the United States and its allies. So it is no wonder that Cuba is facing hardships from these economic measures — and if you throw in hurricanes and the COVID-19 virus, life in Cuba is hard.

Yet Cuba has had many accomplishments in education and health care. Cuban life expectancy is higher that in the United States. The Cuban population is highly educated, and they have universal health care despite being one of the poorest economies in the hemisphere.

The U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba are comprehensive and impact all sectors of the Cuban economy. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history. It has never been effective at achieving its principal purpose: forcing Cuba’s government out of power or bending it to Washington’s will.

The United Nations has voted to end the embargo every year for the past 30 years; this year, the vote was 187-2. Only two nations in the world want it to continue.

It’s past time for it to end.

David Steiber

Southampton