After three devastating storms this hurricane season, Cuba has undergone a massive power outage leaving approximately ten million Cubans without power. These same storms have affected the U.S., leaving millions without power, dozens dead, and hundreds missing. Yet, while you’d imagine the United States might share some sense of ethical solidarity with our neighbor island after experiencing similar devastation from the same storms, our government continues to bully socialist Cuba in an effort to overturn the Cuban Revolution.

The Cuban National Defense Council (CDN) was mobilized to deal with the energy concerns and to acquire fuel and spare parts to repair the National Electrical System (SEN). They have had some successes in getting the electricity back on, but in the end the problems are structural with an aged grid that desperately needs upgrading to a modern system.

While a power outage was perhaps unavoidable with storms of this magnitude in quick succession, the magnitude and severity certainly were avoidable, and they are a direct result of U.S. aggression towards the nation. In one of his last acts in office, former President Trump had Cuba placed on the “State Sponsor of Terrorism” (SSOT) list, which comes with a slate of sanctions. The punishing designation restricts access to international financial systems, including bans on transactions with international financial institutions and freezing Cuban assets held in foreign countries, effectively blocking access to established digital financial transactions and lines of credit. In addition, the designation denies foreign countries who trade with the United States from providing foreign aid to a SSOT country. This absurd and vindictive attack on a peaceful Caribbean island-nation adds to the decades-long embargo that has prevented the Cuban people from having necessary equipment and materials for the repairs required to remedy their National Electrical System.

The CPUSA stands in solidarity with the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and the Cuban people. We encourage all members of the CPUSA and friends of the Cuban people to use social media to fight against U.S.-sponsored disinformation about the Cuban people and their government, who are working tirelessly to save lives and restore electricity in Cuba despite the libel and slander thrown at them. We also call for an unending and relentless activism to have Cuba removed from the SSOT list.

Long live the PCC! Long live working-class internationalism!

Image: 2005 hurricane wilma havana cuba by cuatrok77 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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