1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

PREVENT A HUMANITARIAN AND MILITARY CRISIS IN CUBA As your constituent, I urge you to support easing restrictions that are harming ordinary Cuban civilians, including restrictions affecting food, medicine, family remittances, travel, and fuel needed to keep hospitals, sanitation, electricity, and transportation functioning. I also urge you to oppose any invasion, military strike, expansion of the existing embargo or fuel restrictions, or armed confrontation with Cuba. THE UNITED STATES MUST CHOOSE DIPLOMACY The current crisis calls for restraint, not escalation. Reuters has reported United Nations expert warnings that current United States fuel restrictions threaten human rights, along with rising United States-Cuba tensions and warnings from Cuba about possible United States military action. The United States should continue to speak clearly against political repression, jailed dissidents, and limits on basic freedoms in Cuba, but those concerns should not justify policies that deepen civilian suffering or increase the risk of military confrontation. CIVILIANS SHOULD NOT BE THE TARGET OF POLICY Ordinary Cuban families should not be punished through restrictions that make daily life harder. Reports of blackouts, fuel shortages, public health risks, medicine shortages, and disrupted waste collection show that the burden falls most heavily on civilians. Some United Nations experts, journalists, and analysts have described the current policy as a fuel blockade or blockade-like policy because of its impact on fuel needed to keep hospitals, sanitation systems, electricity, and transportation working. The current United States embargo and fuel restrictions are contributing to these conditions and increasing hardship for ordinary people. CONGRESS SHOULD PREVENT A DANGEROUS CONFRONTATION Military escalation would harm civilians, threaten regional stability, and damage United States interests. The United States has a painful history with Cuba, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and decades of hostility. Congress should help ensure that this history is not repeated. Even loose talk of military action can increase fear, undermine diplomacy, and create the risk of a dangerous mistake. CONGRESS SHOULD ACT TO REDUCE TENSIONS I urge you to: (1) Publicly oppose any invasion, military strike, expansion of the existing embargo or fuel restrictions, or armed confrontation involving Cuba. (2) Support renewed diplomatic communication between the United States and Cuba. (3) Support targeted humanitarian easing for medicine, food, family support, lawful travel, and lifting fuel restrictions affecting hospitals, sanitation, electricity, and transportation. (4) Continue pressing Cuba on human rights without harming ordinary Cuban families. (5) Speak out against rhetoric or actions that could push the United States and Cuba toward unnecessary conflict. Thank you.