Cuban President Meets with U.S. Congressional Delegation

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel met with a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives that visited the island between July 9 and 13, the president himself reported today.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, for his part, stated that congressmen Mark Pocan, Maxine Dexter, Teresa Leger, and Delia Ramirez witnessed during their trip to the island—and through their firsthand exchanges—the severe collective punishment that the U.S. government inflicts upon the Cuban people.

"They have been witnesses to the inhumane impact of the genocidal policy designed from South Florida and implemented by the Secretary of State. As they themselves recognize, #CubaIsNotAThreat; the blockade is," he wrote on his X social media account.

The minister also released a statement signed by the legislators in which they detail the damages caused by the current Washington administration's tightening of the blockade, which they were able to verify firsthand.

"As a small business owner for 37 years, I have seen how the island's private sector has the potential to thrive like never before, but also how it is hindered by U.S. sanctions, which limit its access to financing, harm its workforce, reduce its customer base, and cut off access to suppliers and export opportunities," Pocan stated.

Dexter, meanwhile, noted that Cuba created a free and universal healthcare system upon which millions of Cubans and people worldwide depend, but that today it "is faltering under the weight of the sanctions the White House has imposed" on the island. "This is causing a humanitarian catastrophe, and it is in our hands to stop it. I will use every tool at my disposal to remove the barriers that prevent providing medical care to the Cuban people," she emphasized.

Leger, in turn, characterized her country's policy toward the Caribbean nation as a "siege." "We are blocking medical supplies, fuel, and other essential inputs, which has caused the infant mortality rate to rise by nearly 150 percent in recent years, from four to 9.9 per 1,000 live births. I doubt any American wants innocent babies to die because of our policies," she lamented.

Collectively, the congressmen concluded that the fuel blockade imposed by the United States "is causing indiscriminate suffering to Cuba's most vulnerable, contributing to blackouts across the country, garbage piling up on street corners, and severe shortages of food, medicine, and public transportation."

They added that the Trump administration has presented no evidence that the island represents an imminent threat to U.S. national security. "We consider that any pretext used to undertake an illegal, unauthorized, and unpopular military operation against the island would aggravate a serious humanitarian catastrophe, expose members of the U.S. armed forces to risk, and harm precisely those people we claim to support," they emphasized.

They urged President Trump and other members of Congress to listen to the majority of U.S. and Cuban citizens, as well as the rest of the world, and to lift "the cruel sanctions weighing on the Cuban people and initiate serious and comprehensive negotiations with Cuban authorities."