For several days, complaints have circulated across various media platforms and social networks regarding the retention in Caribbean ports of containers carrying medical supplies bound for Cuba, many of which were secured through the efforts of solidarity organizations.

However, as if this were not enough, it was reported during the opening day of the Seventh Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power that the situation is far more complex.

During an address by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, it was revealed that more than 7,000 containers destined for Cuba are currently stranded in nearby ports. This backlog is attributed to the refusal of several shipping lines to dock at Cuban ports in compliance with executive orders issued by the United States government, which have intensified the economic blockade in an effort to cut off all revenue to the country and depress the economy and quality of life for Cuban citizens.

These containers do not merely hold raw materials and merchandise required for general economic activity; they also carry essential medicines—currently in short supply as a result of what Cuban officials describe as the empire's "multidimensional war"—alongside food products and spare parts critical to the recovery program of the national electrical grid.

Those who have enacted measures to delay their arrival are fully aware of the consequences and act deliberately, as the primary objective remains to deprive the Cuban people of all essential resources.

Compounding this situation is the energy blockade that has severely restricted fuel shipments to the country; so far this year, only a single vessel carrying this vital resource has berthed at Cuban ports.

While the retention of lawfully acquired goods is troubling on a global scale, it is even more painful to recognize that every medication delayed in reaching the island can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of individuals.

Cuba's geographic condition inherently makes it dependent on maritime trade; thus, sanctioning, intimidating, and targeting shipping companies that engage in commerce with the island constitutes, quite simply, an act of genocide.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff