Today, the Government of the United States announced several measures, positive ones but of a very limited scope, with respect to Cuba in terms of visas, regular migration, flights to provinces, remittances and adjustments to regulations for transactions with the not state sector.

By its nature, it is possible to identify some of the promises made by President Biden during the 2020 election campaign to alleviate inhumane decisions made by the Trump administration, which tightened the blockade to unprecedented levels and the “maximum pressure” policy that were applied against our country.

The announcements do not modify the blockade in any way, nor the main economic fence measures taken by Trump, such as the listings of entities that are subject to additional coercive measures, nor does it eliminate travel bans on Americans.

It does not reverse the arbitrary and fraudulent inclusion of Cuba on the State Department's list of countries that are allegedly sponsors of terrorism, one of the main causes of the difficulties that Cuba encounters for its commercial and financial transactions in many parts of the world.

However, it is a limited step in the right direction, a response to the denunciation of the Cuban people and government. It also responds to calls from American society and Cubans residing in that country. This has been a demand of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and that of almost all the Member States of the United Nations, expressed in the overwhelming vote against the blockade. They are fair demands that have been ignored by the United States Government at a very high cost for our population.

Since 2019, the blockade has intensified in the extreme, opportunistically taking advantage of the context of the covid-19 pandemic, the international crisis and the consequent economic depression. Without exaggeration, the consequences of this siege can be described as devastating. The increase in migration is proof of this.

Taking these limited steps, the State Department uses openly hostile language, accompanied by traditional slanders and new fallacies that have become fashionable in recent months, demonstrating that the objectives of the United States' policy against Cuba have not changed, nor have its main tools.

To know the real scope of this announcement, we must wait for the publication of the regulations that implement them.

The Government of Cuba reiterates its willingness to initiate a respectful dialogue on an equal footing with the Government of the United States, based on the Charter of the United Nations, without interference in internal affairs and with full respect for the independence and sovereignty.