Mexico City, January 28 (Prensa Latina) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed today that her country continues to provide humanitarian aid to Cuba, which has been besieged by the United States’ economic, commercial and financial blockade for more than six decades.
“Humanitarian aid to Cuba, as to other countries, continues, because it is humanitarian aid and Mexico has always been in solidarity with everyone. And these are sovereign decisions,” the head of the Executive Branch asserted during her usual press conference.
Sheinbaum alluded to the two ways in which oil is delivered to the largest of the Antilles: one of them is humanitarian aid and the other through contracts established by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) with some institution of the Cuban Government.
“That’s why I say it’s a sovereign decision of Mexico to send humanitarian aid and, with Pemex, in terms of the contract, when it sends it. I never spoke about whether the shipments to the island had been suspended or not,” the president clarified.
She added that “that was a later interpretation based on a note that came out in a newspaper.”
According to the most recent data, Washington’s blockade against Cuba caused damages estimated at seven billion 556.1 million dollars between March 2024 and last February, an increase of 49 percent compared to the previous period.
In the health sector alone, that policy resulted in losses of nearly $300 million in one year, while the impact in the energy sector exceeded $496 million due to restrictions on importing fuels and spare parts.
On October 29, Cuba achieved a new victory in the United Nations General Assembly by obtaining 165 votes in favor of the resolution calling for an end to the blockade.
jha / las
