CUBA | US Threatens New Sanctions if Cuba Prosecutes Nov. 15 March Organizers

KINGSTON, Jamaica, October 23, 2021 - The United States has warned Cuba that it will impose yet another round of economic sanctions on top of the 243 new sanctions imposed by the Trump regime in tightening the US Blockade, if  the promoters of the planned November 15 march in Cuba are prosecuted by the government.

The Prosecutor’s Office In Havana this week cited the organizers of the march and informed them that it had not been authorized and had been declared illegal.;

In light of this, the Cuban authorities say if the march took place, promoters, and participants would be violating the Cuban Constitution and would potentially face criminal charges.

The Spanish news agency EFE quoted a statement by Biden’s advisor for Latin America Juan González, who indicated that Washington will sanction Cuban officials in the event that the organizers of the November 15 march are prosecuted for carrying out the announced march despite the government's permit denial.

A recently created online platform named Archipielago, which promoted and organized the march, issued a statement after the government citation,which insisted on pursuing their decision to march on November 15, despite the government's refusal to allow it.

The United States has criticized the Cuban government's decision to prevent the march from taking place, with Gonzalez alleging on Friday that the island's leaders are “afraid to have a national conversation with the Cuban people.”

It’s becoming clearer that the US govt is indeed the main sponsor of the #15Nov protest in Cuba

What else to say when a top US official @Cartajuanero, NSC Senior Director threatens Cuba with more sanctions if it doesn’t allow a US intervention plan https://t.co/1LdOX7tPB1

— Manolo De Los Santos (@manolo_realengo) October 22, 2021

Gonzalez claimed that "the future of Cuba is not going to be determined from Washington...we are fully committed to supporting, backing and strengthening the voice of the Cuban people who want change."

González also referred to the tougher line followed by Biden toward the island, which include new sanctions on high-ranking Cuban military and police officials for their purported role in arresting July protesters, in a clear departure from the path of de-escalation and normalization carried out former President Barack Obama (2009-2017).

In its response, the Cuban government observed that sections of ther opposition, as well as "new characters, financed by U.S. foundations and the federal budget, continue their attempts to destabilize the country, while Cuba begins to revive social life, services, schools, tourism and other sectors of the economy, following difficult months of pandemic, a world economic crisis, and the unrelenting, intensified blockade.

"In recent weeks, they announced their intention to organize an allegedly “peaceful“ march in mid-November, the day Cuba reopens its borders to visitors. Their explicit goal and organizational scheme reveal an articulated provocation as part of the “change of regime” strategy for Cuba that has been rehearsed already in other countries," the Cuban government said.

"What is really at stake here –and no one should have any doubt about that- is the right of Cuba to defend itself from a foreign aggression, regardless of its disguise. Article 4 of the Cuban Constitution, approved in a referendum hardly three years ago by 86.85 per cent of voters, clearly defines that: “The socialist system that endorses this Constitution is irrevocable,” said the Foreign Affairs ministry.

Trump regime’s tightening US blockade on Cuba, with 243 new sanctions, has been intensified by Biden administration.
Despite recent 184 to 2 vote in the UN General Assembly against US economic blockade of Cuba, Biden has imposed new sanctions going beyond even those of Trump. pic.twitter.com/Q6dRqzUqvv

— Joseph Dickerson (@joekaren46) August 27, 2021

"It is clear that neither now nor in the future could the right to demonstrate be used to subvert the political system, overthrow the Cuban socialist project or establish alliances with groups and organizations receiving money from abroad with the purpose of promoting the interests of the US government and other foreign powers.

"In our country there is no right to work in favor of the interest of a foreign power and jeopardize citizens’ stability.Getting involved in an annexationist project is against the Constitution and it is both illegitimate and immoral. It has been so established by our laws and our history," the Cuban government declared.

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