Fwd: Follow-up: Cuba letter to Congress and recent developments

[Mary Hunt]

I draw your attention to the text below and the letter of support that WATER signed about current events in Cuba. Click on the HERE button near the end of the text to read the letter. 

In the midst of the war in the Middle East, it is easy to let the Latin American and Caribbean issues pass unnoticed. 

All good wishes to Cuban colleagues.

Mary E. Hunt

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Francesca Emanuele" <fema...@cepr.net>

Subject: Follow-up: Cuba letter to Congress and recent developments

Date: March 6, 2026 at 10:09:24 AM EST

Hi everyone, 

We would like to thank you for signing the letter on Cuba addressed to the US Congress, as well as those organizations that, even if they did not sign, share concerns about US unilateral economic sanctions, the continued oil blockade that restricts the Cuban state’s ability to purchase the fuel needed to operate the country’s power grid and essential services, and, more broadly, this administration’s policies designed to impose suffering on the Cuban population.

We also wanted to share that the letter has received important media coverage. It has been covered, mentioned or cited by major outlets, including Associated Press – which led to the story appearing in other outlets, i.e Los Angeles Press, ABC12, NBC, The Hindu, Arab News, The Seattle Times –  Newsweek, The Atlantic, elDiario.es, among others. It has also been cited by smaller outlets such as The Rio Times, and progressive ones such as Common Dreams, Black Enterprise, Cubainformacion and others. 

Cuba has just spent more than 20 hours with two-thirds of the country without electricity, leaving approximately 7 million Cubans without power. On Wednesday, Ecuador declared Cuba’s ambassador and diplomatic staff persona non grata, giving them 48 hours to leave the country without explanation. The announcement came just hours after the US launched a military operation on Ecuadorian territory, allegedly targeting “narco-terrorists.”

The expulsion of Cuba’s ambassador from Ecuador—given the close alignment between the US and Ecuadorian administrations—suggests that the pressure campaign to corner Cuba and pursue regime change remains active and evolving. Yesterday, Trump said that Cuba would be the “next” on the administration’s agenda after the ongoing war with Iran. And today he told CNN that Cuba “is going to fall pretty soon.”

This Saturday, Trump will meet with 12 right-wing Latin American and Caribbean presidents in Miami for the “Shield of the Americas Summit.” Cuba will likely be discussed—and not in a positive way—alongside efforts to legitimize the administration’s counternarcotics strategy and extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Ultimately, all of this shows that the strangulation of Cuba is far from being in a stalemate, even if it is understandable that the media has shifted its attention, given that Trump is bombing Iran and fueling a regional war in the Middle East.

Our letter was sent to congressional offices last Friday by Andrea Fernandez of LAWG on behalf of all of us. Since the crisis in Cuba is ongoing and the letter remains fully relevant, we wanted to ask whether you might also send it from your own organizations, as a way of reminding congressional offices that this issue remains urgent.  Here you can find the letter, including all the organizations that signed it.

Thank you again for all the important work you’re doing and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or ideas for how we might continue collaborating.

Abrazo,

Francesca Emanuele

Senior Policy Associate for Latin America

Center for Economic and Policy Research

1611 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 400

Washington, DC 20009

202-714-3204

www.cepr.net