LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2020) Washington's near six-decade blockade of Cuba is coming under increased scrutiny as more nations recognize the need for international solidarity amid the global coronavirus disease pandemic, Rob Miller, director of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, told Sputnik.
Miller said this was a welcome development in long-running efforts to change US policy in the region, given that Washington's attempts to pressure other countries into rejecting Cuban medical aid have, at times, proved fruitless.
"The political situation has opened up some doors on the question of the blockade and has further isolated the position of the US administration on Cuba," he said.
A team of 52 Cuban doctors and nurses traveled to the Italian region of Lombardy in late March and Miller stated that this was despite the US State Department's efforts to dissuade countries from receiving help from the Caribbean country.
"You've got Cuban medical brigades now in many different countries, including countries that normally wouldn't have Cubans there such as Italy. That's despite the fact that the US State Department issued a statement trying to warn governments off cooperating with Cuba during this pandemic," he said.
The Cuba Solidarity Campaign has to date accrued over 15,000 signatures, including from major figures like Len McCluskey, head of Britain's biggest trade union, Unite, demanding the UK government add pressure to their US counterparts to ease the blockade.
Such moves were being strengthened, the campaign director claimed, in light of recent calls from both UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya to effectively lift sanctions from targeted countries for the duration of the pandemic.
The fact that such efforts to discourage nations from accepting Cuban aid was further evidence of Washington's mounting isolation when it came to Cuba, Miller argued, a fact that was becoming more and more evident in both diplomatic circles and wider civil society.
"You've got a situation where US diplomats are engaging in pressuring countries around the world saying they shouldn't have medical cooperation with Cuba otherwise it could affect their relationship with the United States," he said.
The campaign director added that there was a clear divide emerging between the US and its allies and that international cooperation was crucial during the ongoing epidemiological and economic crisis.
"But there's a clear divide there between some western allies and the United States. At a time of humanitarian crisis, it would be far better for countries to cooperate rather than imposing blockades and sanctions. So, there's a growing call for cooperation," he said.
In particular, Russia and China have been particularly vocal about the need to remove the US blockade on the Caribbean country, Miller said.
"A whole host of countries including Russia and China have called for an end to the blockade at this time as have lots of civil society groups plus 50 members of parliament over here (UK). So there's a growing opposition to the blockade that's taking place at a time of humanitarian crisis," he added.
The US blockade itself has however had a serious impact on Cuba's capacity to deal with more than 1,000 domestic cases of COVID-19, he claimed. Despite having an "amazing health service" in terms of Primary care and disease prevention, the country struggles when it comes to importing advanced medical equipment, an obstacle caused by the continuance of the US blockade, he stated.
"Cuba is finding it very difficult to buy ventilators in particular, plus PPE [personal protective equipment]. So it's difficult for Cuba to access those products in a situation of blockade," Miller said.
Consequently, the lifting of the blockade would allow Cuba to purchase the equipment necessary to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19 and any future outbreaks of infectious disease, he said.
"They've got a very clear control system to deal with this but what they have not got are the more high-end facilities for people who need more acute treatment. That puts an incredible strain on Cuba in a situation where they are doing the best they can, but it would be a lot easier if there were some humanitarian assistance and cooperation across borders, which is being blocked by the United States," Miller stated.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on March 24 called for the G20 countries to lift sanctions so that countries can ensure deliveries of food and essential health supplies.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande echoed the secretary-general's sentiments and urged for countries to lift sanctions amid the ongoing global pandemic.
However, a Russia-drafted General Assembly resolution calling for solidarity and global sanctions relief was blocked last week by the US, EU, UK, Ukraine, and Georgia.
