Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) announced this after returning July 13 from a four-day “observational” visit to Cuba conducted with Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), Delia C. Ramirez (D-ILL) and Maxine Dexter (D-OR). The four, who said they were carrying out oversight of U.S. foreign policy, and had the opportunity to speak directly to the Cuban people about the “cruel” effects of U.S. sanctions, and the humanitarian crisis they have caused. After having these conversations, Pocan stated that what is occurring in Cuba is a “silent Gaza.” There may not be bombings, “but there are certainly conditions that prevent people from going about their daily lives. They can’t go to work, they can’t preserve their food, they can’t access medical supplies, or live as they did before,” he said.
According to Rep. Dexter, the group met with President Díaz-Canel and with religious leaders, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, humanitarian groups, medical professionals, and farmers, and despite their differences they all said the same thing–that U.S. sanctions are “strangling” Cuba. Rep. Pocan said they will ask their congressional colleagues to vote to remove the coercive measures. Rep. Dexter warned that “what the United States is doing to this island is a siege,” in which the blocking of medical supplies, fuel and other essential inputs, has led to rising infant mortality rates. “I doubt any American wants innocent Cuban babies to die due to our policies.” Dexter posted to X “This is a humanitarian catastrophe, and Congress has a responsibility to act. I am thankful to those who met with me to share their experiences, and I will be using every tool at my disposal to pursue policies that put human lives first.”
At the end of their trip the four legislators issued a hard-hitting joint statement. Among other things, it states that the Trump administration “has not provided any evidence that Cuba poses a pressing national security threat to the United States and our interests at home and abroad. We believe that any pretext used to launch an illegal, unauthorized and unpopular military operation against the island would exacerbate a grave humanitarian catastrophe, put U.S. service members at unnecessary risk and hurt the very people we claim to support.”