A broad coalition of elected officials, public figures, and grassroots organizations issued a public letter demanding an end to the Trump administration’s escalating war against Cuba, which they describe as a deliberate effort to induce famine and mass suffering on the island.
“US President Donald Trump is trying to induce a famine in Cuba,” the Call to Conscience states. “This is not a policy of national security; it is a deliberate act of economic warfare aimed at strangling an entire population.”
The letter comes in response to Trump’s January 29 executive order, which labels Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States and imposes severe economic penalties on any country that attempts to deliver oil to or trade with the island. Organizers reject this characterization, calling it “obviously false” and a pretext for intensified sanctions.
The letter also accuses Trump of using Cuba in an attempt to distract from growing public discontent with his administration. “It is a cynical and crude ploy to distract public opinion from the issues at home that are eliciting mass public dissent, and as we’ve seen with Venezuela, a precursor to an illegal military attack,” the letter warns.
“The consequences will be measured in human suffering”
In a press conference on February 5, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced a series of emergency measures that his government is taking in light of the renewed attacks. He also revealed that no fuel has entered the island since December and that the electrical grid is therefore operating at a very limited capacity. This, as outlined in the letter, impacts all areas of life in Cuba such as the provision of health services in hospitals and clinics, the distribution of food and medicine, transportation, education, and more.
“The most vulnerable – children, the elderly, and the sick – will bear the brunt of this cruelty,” the letter underlines.
“Cuba poses no threat to the United States. Starving a population into submission is not diplomacy; it is a form of terrorism.”
Cultural workers and NYC City Councilors lend support
The Call to Conscience has gained support from prominent actors, including Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, and Kal Penn; musicians Roger Waters and Vic Mensa; filmmaker Boots Riley; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker. The Movement for Black Lives, The People’s Forum, the ANSWER Coalition, the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), among others, have endorsed the call.
Notably, 22 members of the New York City Council (nearly half the body) signed the letter, including Council Members Alexa Avilés and Chi Ossé. They were joined by New York State Senator Julia Salazar and State Assembly Member Claire Valdez. Academic signatories include professors from Yale University, Cornell University, Duke University, New York University, and Brooklyn College.
“We, the people of the United States, want to have normal relations with Cuba, treat Cuba with equality and respect, and most importantly to see Cuba and the Cuban people as our neighbors and not our enemies,” the letter concludes.
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