At the headquarters of the Council of the District of Columbia advocated a bilateral rapprochement between Cuba and the United States. Author: Washington Post

WASHINGTON, February 21st. — The Council of the District of Columbia, a unicameral legislature, has proposed a resolution calling for lifting the blockade on Cuba and removing the island from the US list of states allegedly supporting terrorism.

The resolution “The Meaning of the Council for the Restoration of Cuban-American Relations for 2023” promulgated by the LP recalls that the United States has imposed an economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba since 1962, and believes that President Joseph Biden and Congress should take the necessary measures to recall and exclusion of the Island from the above list.

At the last stage of Barack Obama’s rule (2009-2017), attempts were made to restore ties between the two countries in order to normalize relations and promote mutual interests, he recalled.

However, since the administration of Donald Trump (2017-2021), 243 new sanctions have been adopted, “including restrictions on Cuban Americans who send remittances to families and businesses in Cuba,” he stressed, and “Cuba has been turned back on to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

He noted that under the current administration of Joseph Biden, some travel restrictions have been partially lifted, “but many restrictions remain.”

The text listed many of the losses this policy was causing to Cuba and the involvement of third parties, recalled the rejection of this siege by the majority and years in the UN General Assembly, and pointed out that in the United States, city councils, state legislatures, school boards, labor boards , trade unions and other organizations adopted some 67 resolutions calling for an end to this one-sided siege.

These statements also call for scientific cooperation and put pressure on the federal government to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

“The power belongs to President Biden to remove Cuba from the list and begin the normalization of relations between our countries,” he stressed.

In this sense, the Council felt that Biden and Congress “should take all necessary measures to end all aspects of the blockade imposed against Cuba by the United States” and remove it “from the list of state sponsors of terrorism due to the unjust harm caused to the Cuban people “.

The District of Columbia has autonomy as permitted by the Constitution, however it is not a state and is under the direct control of the United States Congress, so Council resolutions must be ratified by Congress.

The Council consists of 13 members.

Source: Juventud Rebelde