At a May 4 Telephone Town Hall in Seattle for constituents in the 7th congressional district, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) harshly criticized U.S. policy toward Cuba, calling the oil blockade, in place since Jan. 29, tantamount to bombing infrastructure, just as the U.S. has done in Iran. This is “illegal and against international law,” she said, creating a “crisis beyond imagination,” Yahoo reported her saying. The oil blockade “is doing the same thing. It is bombing the infrastructure of Cuba with economic sanctions that essentially ensure that the infrastructure collapses.”
The meeting was called to inform constituents on key developments and also hear their questions and concerns. From April 1-5, Ms. Jayapal had visited Cuba, accompanied by Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill), and reported on her findings. Her trip to Cuba, she said, was “our right and responsibility” as members of Congress to gather information and report back to the American people. Part of that responsibility, she explained, included her contact with the Mexican ambassador and those of other Latin America nations “and others” to try to see if there were a way to get oil into Cuba.
She also told her constituents that she was sure that if most Americans knew of the life-threatening consequences of the “cruel” oil blockade imposed by President Donald Trump on a small country only 90 miles from the U.S., they would never tolerate it. Were Cuba and the U.S. to have normal diplomatic relations, the benefits for both nations would be enormous.
