Oxfam regrets Trump administration’s decisions on Cuba

The unfair measures announced by the Trump administration on April 17 will impact the everyday lives of Cubans by limiting family remittances, blocking banking transactions, and penalizing national businesses and foreign investors, according to (international humanitarian organization) Oxfam. 

This “new plan” to harden the economic blockade to which the Cuban people have been subjected for almost six decades is a return to old and failed methods that are an affront to international law and the self-determination of states.  “These measures will adversely affect human rights and will limit efforts to achieve greater economic growth and improve the living conditions of ordinary women and men,” warned Jerome Faure, Oxfam Country Director in Cuba. “Worse yet, they will slow progress toward change on the island, including decentralization to enable more local control, opportunities for private sector development and job creation.” 

Oxfam has been working with the most vulnerable sectors of the Cuban population for more than 25 years. Our experience working with communities, cooperatives, women’s and LGBTI community collectives, academic sectors, and civil society organizations and activists, has shown that the US embargo is a major obstacle to attaining the sustainable development goals and to achieving a more just and inclusive society. 

Although some may be celebrating the Trump administration’s announcement, we know that many more Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits prefer reconciliation over hostility, orderly migration over irregular migration, and cultural enrichment and bilateral accords over divisiveness and hate speech.