The People of Tampa Bay Call for an End to the U.S. Blockade of Cuba
Tampa City Council; St. Petersburg City Council; Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners; Pinellas Board of County Comissioners; Representative Kathy Castor; Representative Anna Paulina Luna; Tampa Mayor Jane Castor; St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
Call on elected officials to take a stand against the U.S. blockade of Cuba.
For over 100 years, Tampa Bay has taken pride in its strong ties with Cuba. Cuban national hero Jose Marti famously rallied cigar workers in Ybor City to support Cuban independence. Cubans built historic mutual aid societies that provided essential services to community members. In the case of La Union Martí-Maceo, its educational programs, medical care, and financial assistance were key for Afro Cubans persevering through Jim Crow segregation. Today, Cuban Americans are central to Tampa Bay’s social, cultural, and economic vitality. Cubans migrating now to Tampa Bay continue this legacy by making incalculable contributions to our community’s development.
For over 60 years, however, these strong ties have been undermined by the U.S. sanctions policies targeting Cuba. These policies prevent a free flow of travel, trade, and aid between our peoples while blocking Cuba's ability to normally trade with the rest of the world. U.S. sanctions prevent Cuba from obtaining vital medical equipment and supplies, and impedes humanitarian aid responses to catastrophic events like Hurricane Ian which devastated both Florida and Cuba.
Ending the blockade and fully restoring diplomatic relations, trade, and travel between our two countries would be of great benefit to all, particularly in the areas of economic opportunities, education, health care, tourism, the arts, music, and sports, along with medical and biotechnological research.
Save Lives
Several life-saving medications produced in Cuba are blocked from U.S. patients including:
- Heberprot-P, a foot ulcer treatment that has eliminated the need for diabetes-related amputations in Cuba1. Heberprot-P can prevent 130,000 amputations each year in the United States2.
- Cimavax-EGF, a therapeutic lung cancer vaccine which has significantly prolonged and increased the quality of life for Cubans with lung cancer.
- NeuroEPO, a neuroprotective drug which has shown exciting potential for treating cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease3.
Free Up Travel and Scientific Exchange
U.S. policy currently blocks U.S. tourism to Cuba and heavily impedes the ability of Cuban scientists to travel to the United States to conduct collaborative research on important subjects like agriculture, marine biology, and climate change4.
Boost the Economy
A congressional research report in 2021 found that U.S. agricultural exports could rise as high as $1.2 billion in five years if restrictions on trade were removed5. Without sanctions, Florida’s agricultural sector will experience a huge gain from trade with Cuban markets. If the economic growth during the Obama administration’s attempts at normalization is any indicator, Tampa Bay's docks, airports, and tourism sector will grow tremendously in result of ending travel and trade restrictions between Cuba and the United States.
Do What's Right (and Popular)
Cuba’s economy loses an average of $15 million each day due to U.S. policies. United Nations special rapporteurs on sanctions have concluded that these policies restrict development and cut off access to food, fuel, and medicine6. These policies go as far as to prevent aid from reaching the people of Cuba even during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic7.
A 2016 Pew Research study found that 73 percent of U.S. residents favored ending the trade embargo against Cuba8. Among Cuban Americans in South Florida, 71 percent agree that the embargo has not worked well; 61 percent supported pausing all U.S. sanctions during the COVID-19 pandemic9. An overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly has voted in support of ending the U.S. embargo against Cuba for 31 consecutive years10.
We, the co-signatories, call on our municipal, county, state, and federal elected officials to represent our interests by fighting to end the U.S. blockade against Cuba!
Notes:
(3) https://www.beingpatient.com/cuba-alzheimers-drug-neuroepo/
(4) https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/how-american-embargo-impacts-environmental-conservation-cuba
(5) https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46791
(7) https://apnews.com/article/2858fbaa2dd5460fa2988b888fc53748
(9) https://cri.fiu.edu/research/cuba-poll/2020-fiu-cuba-poll.pdf
(10) https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143112
Sponsored by
To:
Tampa City Council; St. Petersburg City Council; Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners; Pinellas Board of County Comissioners; Representative Kathy Castor; Representative Anna Paulina Luna; Tampa Mayor Jane Castor; St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
From:
[Your Name]
As a resident of Florida and the Tampa Bay area, I urge you to do everything in your power to support an end to the U.S. blockade on Cuba.
For over 60 years, the United States has imposed its most enduring and comprehensive sanctions on Cuba, an island of 11 million people just 90 miles South of Florida. These policies prevent a free flow of travel, trade, and aid between our peoples while blocking Cuba's ability to normally trade with the rest of the world. U.S. sanctions prevent Cuba from obtaining vital medical equipment and supplies, and impedes humanitarian aid responses to catastrophic events like Hurricane Ian which devastated both Florida and Cuba.
Ending the blockade and fully restoring diplomatic relations, trade, and travel between our two countries would be of great benefit to all, particularly in the areas of economic opportunities, education, health care, tourism, the arts, music, and sports, along with medical and biotechnological research.
Several life-saving medications produced in Cuba are blocked from U.S. patients including: (1) Heberprot-P, a foot ulcer treatment that has eliminated the need for diabetes-related amputations in Cuba. Heberprot-P can prevent 130,000 amputations each year in the United States. (2) Cimavax-EGF, a therapeutic lung cancer vaccine which has significantly prolonged and increased the quality of life for Cubans with lung cancer. (3) NeuroEPO, a neuroprotective drug which has shown exciting potential for treating cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease.
U.S. policy currently blocks U.S. tourism to Cuba and heavily impedes the ability of Cuban scientists to travel to the United States to conduct collaborative research on important subjects like agriculture, marine biology, and climate change.
A congressional research report in 2021 found that U.S. agricultural exports could rise as high as $1.2 billion in five years if restrictions on trade were removed. Without sanctions, Florida’s agricultural sector will experience a huge gain from trade with Cuban markets. Tampa and St. Petersburg’s docks, airports, and tourism sector will experience incalculable growth if travel and tourism between Cuba and the United States would normalize, as it did under the Obama administration. Countless other sectors will undoubtedly benefit from trade with nearby Cuba.
Cuba’s economy loses an average of $15 million each day due to U.S. policies. United Nations special rapporteurs on sanctions have concluded that these policies restrict development and cut off access to food, fuel, and medicine. These policies go as far as to restrict aid aimed to support the people of Cuba even during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2016 Pew Research study found that 73 percent of U.S. residents favored ending the trade embargo against Cuba. Among Cuban Americans in South Florida, 71 percent agree that the embargo has not worked well; 61 percent supported pausing all U.S. sanctions during the COVID-19 pandemic. An overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly has voted in support of ending the U.S. embargo against Cuba for 31 consecutive years.
We call on members of the Tampa and St. Petersburg City Councils to pass resolutions urging President Biden and our congressional representatives to end all sanctions on Cuba and have Cuba removed from U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
We call on our U.S. Representatives from Florida to circulate and pass legislation that will remove all sanctions against Cuba by the United States, as well as the travel restrictions on U.S. citizens and residents to Cuba, and Cuban citizens to the United States.