1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

End Six Decades of U.S.-Imposed Suffering on the Cuban People   I am writing to urge you to oppose the escalating U.S. pressure campaign against Cuba and to work to end the economic, commercial, and financial blockade, as well as any planning that points toward military intervention or forced regime change.   For decades, U.S. policy toward Cuba has inflicted suffering on ordinary Cuban people. The United Nations General Assembly voted 187 to 2 in 2023 — with only the U.S. and Israel opposed — to call for an end to the embargo, documenting shortages of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and basic necessities. Whatever disagreements exist with the Cuban government, collective punishment of an entire population is wrong.   Cuba’s economic difficulties stem from multiple factors, including the Cuban government’s own structural failures. However, many analysts, governments, and international organizations have concluded that U.S. restrictions have significantly contributed to those hardships.   I also urge you to reject the claim that Cuba poses a substantial national security threat. In 2015, following formal review, the U.S. removed Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. The basis for Trump’s 2021 relisting subsequently collapsed when Colombia suspended the very arrest warrants it had asked Cuba to honor. President Biden recertified in January 2025 that Cuba had not supported international terrorism and moved to remove the designation. President Trump reinstated it within hours of taking office, without offering any new factual basis. Legal analysts have concluded that Cuba’s conduct does not meet the statutory criteria in any meaningful sense.   The current administration has declared Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” imposed an oil blockade, and invoked the phrase “friendly takeover” of the island. Independent foreign policy analysts have noted that Cuba’s supposed threat is largely fictitious given the enormous power disparity between the two countries. The stated justifications appear pretextual.   I ask you to:               •           Support legislation to end the blockade.             •           Oppose sanctions that worsen civilian suffering.             •           Reject any threats of invasion, military escalation, or forced regime change.             •           Support diplomacy, humanitarian access, and respect for Cuban sovereignty.   The United States should pursue a policy grounded in peace, realism, and human welfare. I urge you to act.