1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

I'm calling on you to take immediate action to end the oil blockade and lift all U.S. sanctions against Cuba. These policies amount to economic warfare that is killing ordinary Cubans, not changing their government. Cuba has experienced three nationwide blackouts in March alone because the country hasn't received oil from foreign suppliers in three months. Hospitals are surviving only on generators that often can't be powered. People can't access medical care because motorized transportation is too expensive. Cuba can only produce 40 percent of the oil and gas it needs, forcing the government to ration fuel for bare necessities. This is a humanitarian catastrophe. A recent study found that U.S. and EU sanctions on Cuba and other countries have killed 38 million people since 1970. When the U.S. first issued sanctions against Cuba in 1960, a State Department memo explicitly stated the goal was "to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation, and overthrow of government." The blockade has failed to topple Cuba's government while costing the island billions and devastating ordinary lives. These sanctions are collective punishment. I expect you to publicly oppose the oil blockade, co-sponsor legislation to end the comprehensive embargo, and vote against any measures that tighten restrictions on Cuba.