Hosted by: ANSWER Coalition – Bay Area, Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee, Bay Area Saving Lives Campaign + Venceremos Brigade – Bay Area
We hope your organization can endorse and take part in this important mobilization. For endorsements and any questions you can email answer [at] answersf.org or call 415-821-6545
We ask that you also help us publicize the caravan. We will have plenty of signs to share. You are welcome to bring your own as well.
For 60 plus years, Cuba has remained under the criminal blockade of the United States government. The world sees the U.S. blockade of Cuba for what it is: an unjust and criminal attack on the sovereignty and rights of the Cuban people.
On Sunday, July 25, Cuban-American anti-blockade travelers and supporters who are trekking 1,300 miles from Miami to Washington D.C. will rally in front of the White House at Lafayette Park to deliver demands and a petition signed by over 25,000 people to the Biden administration. Solidarity caravans and other actions will take place in many U.S. cities in support of this effort.
The impact of the blockade on Cuba is immense—immeasurable in many ways. The economic, financial, and commercial blockading of Cuba impacts all aspects of life for the Cuban people and poses many limitations for Cuban society from being able to reach its maximum potential. Access to building materials, technology, devices, and treatments is severely restricted. In 2020 alone, an estimated $5 billion is estimated in losses because of the blockade.
The impact of the blockade has especially been brutal during the pandemic for Cuba. In a period of global health crisis that necessitates cooperation and solidarity, the U.S. government has maintained its policy of isolation and sanctions on Cuba. Despite the blockade, Cuba has secured and guarantees free healthcare to all its residents. Cuba has independently produced five vaccines, but the blockade prevents access to equipment for vaccine and food production creating shortages and scarcity. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said during the U.N. General Assembly in June, “like the virus, the blockade asphyxiates and kills.”
A large majority of the people in the United States support the lifting of the blockade of Cuba and support the normalization of relations and friendship between the two neighboring countries.
The movement inside the United States to demand the U.S. government end the blockade continues to grow. For this movement to succeed, it will require the active support, solidarity, and participation of all progressive people.
