Madrid, Aug 2 (Prensa Latina) The State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MESC) denounced in a statement the blocking of containers and the increase in freight costs for donations destined for Cuba.
According to Prensa Latina, which learned this today through the text, the MESC referred in particular to two containers of humanitarian aid, one from the Catalan solidarity coordinator Defensem Cuba and another from the NGO Sodepaz.
In this regard, the MESC denounced the unjustified retention of two shipments of solidarity aid destined for Cuba, sent from Catalonia and Madrid by decision of two international shipping companies, fearful of sanctions from the United States Government.
Both have been blocked for more than two weeks in Caribbean ports, preventing their arrival in Santiago de Cuba, the source said.
He also detailed that one of the containers contains mattresses and other essential goods intended for people affected by Hurricane Melissa in eastern Cuba.
The other one is transporting 3.5 million syringes and hypodermic needles for the public health system of Santiago de Cuba.
“The organizations responsible for the shipment are working to secure the immediate release of both containers and are studying appropriate legal action in light of the serious damage caused,” he reported.
In the statement, the Ministry of Economy and Culture (MESC) emphasized that this is not an isolated case. “It adds to the growing difficulties Cuba faces in receiving essential goods,” it noted.
According to data recently provided by Cuban authorities, around seven thousand shipments of medicines, medical equipment, food and other supplies remain stranded in Caribbean ports, affected by the restrictions resulting from the White House blockade.
Elsewhere in its statement, the MESC explained that the actions of certain shipping companies “demonstrate their collaboration with the extraterritorial application of the blockade, despite the fact that European Union legislation itself includes mechanisms to protect European companies against US sanctions.”
As a result, many operations are diverted to third countries, increasing transport times and freight costs, with a direct impact on Cuba’s supply, he added.
“The Ministry of Education and Culture (MESC) denounces that these measures affect even humanitarian aid and essential health supplies, directly harming the Cuban population. The blockade not only aims to stifle the country’s economy, but also to obstruct international solidarity among nations,” it stated.
Ana Ruíz Alonso, a Catalan activist from Defensem Cuba, commented on her surprise when she learned two weeks ago that the container sent, along with hundreds more, had been abandoned in the port of Kingston, Jamaica.
The only way to solve the problem is by returning it, in our case, to Barcelona to unload it, return the container, and start from scratch, at an additional cost of 20,000 euros, Ruiz Alonso complained.
The same applies to Sodepaz’s shipment of three and a half million syringes for humanitarian purposes in the Santiago de Cuba area, he specified.
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