Brazil’s president calls U.S. economic embargo on Cuba ‘illegal,’ condemns terrorist list label

On the first trip that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made to Cuba during his third term in office, he protested the inclusion of the island on the list of states that sponsored terrorism and labeled the embargo that the United States has imposed on the island an “illegal” one.

Cuba is still on the state sponsors of terrorism list in the United States, even though the current administration of Vice President Joe Biden has repealed other policies enacted during the Trump administration. Former President Donald Trump added Cuba to the list.
“Cuba has strongly supported more equitable forms of world governance. “And even today, it is the victim of an illegal economic embargo,” Lula said in a speech that opened the G77 Summit of developing nations in Havana, Cuba’s capital city. “Brazil is opposed to any unilateral coercive measures,” the statement read. We disagree with including Cuba on the list of countries that provide financial support for terrorist organizations.

These remarks were made only a few hours before Lula boarded his flight to New York, where he will participate in the United Nations General Assembly and hold bilateral discussions with Biden.

The Communist Party of Cuba is currently enforcing Washington’s economic embargo against the island, which dates back to the Cold War. Cuba previously expressed its concerns about the label. The trade embargo has been consistently rejected by the country’s primary trading partner, the European Union, which consists of 27 member states. According to Cuba and other countries that oppose the economic restrictions, the embargo prevents and hinders access to food, medicine, and other essential resources for development.

A request for a reaction to Lula’s statements was sent to the United States Department of State, but there was no immediate response.

According to the former administration of Vice President Joe Biden, exemptions and authorizations allowing the export of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods to the island are present in U.S. legislation.

It is anticipated that Brazil will revert to its traditional stance during the Assembly, which will be to condemn the embargo on Cuba. This is one of the motions normally put to the vote at the United Nations Assembly once per year and receives an overwhelming majority vote of approval. Alongside the United States and Israel, Brazil cast a no vote against the resolution in 2019, the first year of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, which is associated with the political right.

Lula also used his address to demand once more the investments pledged by wealthy countries to lessen the impact of climate change, as stated in the Paris Agreement, but which have not been met. This was Lula’s second public call for these investments. According to the president, less developed nations do not have the same “historical debt” for contributing to global warming as do more developed nations.

The idea of having some tasks in common while others have different ones is still sound. Because of this, he stressed that all developing nations should be assured access to climate funding tailored to their specific requirements and priorities.