At the UN General Assembly the international community once again strongly condemned the US blockade of Cuba, writes Faiza Rady Though already known to be an exceptionally busy United States government agency, the Department of Homeland Security has further intensified its policing activities. On 30 September last year, the Bush administration added a new list of "illegal" products to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations that included a ban prohibiting US citizens and permanent residents from bringing Cuban tobacco and alcohol into the US -- even when bought in countries other than Cuba. Besides being in the hi-stress business of tracking down would-be terrorists real or imagined, Homeland Security agents are now on the lookout for those trespassers who may -- even unwittingly -- smuggle items like Cuban cigars or Havana Club rum into the country. Smuggling such offensive items into the US naturally comes at a high price. Sanctions for violations could reach $1 million in fines for corporations and $250,000 and up to 10 years imprisonment for individuals. However, according to Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Perez Roque the penalty seems somewhat out of whack with the crime. "When it comes to craziness, this draconian ban should be registered in the Guinness Book of Records," declared Roque in his 8 November address to the UN General Assembly (GA) Meeting on The Need to End the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade Imposed on Cuba by the United States. The vast majority of the world's delegates at the meeting tended to agree with Cuba. For the 14th year in a row, the GA has voted quasi- unanimously in favour of the resolution. Addressing the GA meeting for the Group of 77 developing countries and China, Jamaican delegate Stafford O Neil said the group opposed the blockade because it was "unilateral and contrary to international law and the UN Charter and had caused huge damage to the people of Cuba." Julian Hunte from Saint Lucia, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community CARICOM, explained that the UN Charter emphasised the importance of respect for the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in their internal affairs. From that perspective the imposition of unilateral punitive measures and the extraterritorial application of legislation constituted a violation of international law. While 182 countries out of 191 UN member states voted to demand that the US "lift its blockade as soon as possible", only the US along with its friend and ally Israel, the tiny Marshall Islands -- who are incidentally totally dependent on US aid, and Palau, yet another obscure and impoverished US ally, voted against the resolution. Recently-appointed US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton dismissed the vote as "a complete exercise in irrelevancy" since GA resolutions -- unlike Security Council resolutions -- are non- binding. Bolton chose not to attend the session. "It is true that we haven't defeated the blockade economically precisely because GA resolutions are non-binding. But we have defeated it morally and politically and this is very important," Cuban Ambassador to Cairo Angel Dalmau Fernàndez told Al-Ahram Weekly. "If GA votes condemning the blockade decrease then US economic warfare will be stimulated, but the opposite is happening. This year's was a record vote in support of Cuba." In Havana thousands of people who had gathered at the Convention Centre cheered loudly when they heard the news, in tandem with many delegates in the GA hall in New York who burst into applause when the result was shown on an electronic screen. This year marks the 46th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and the 46th anniversary of the blockade. "The US calls it an embargo, but we refer to it as a blockade," explains Fernàndez. "The distinction is important because embargoes are by definition bilateral, whereas blockades are multilateral. However, what is happening now transcends all conventional definitions. Under globalisation, the US blockade is able to extend its fangs to most countries of the world. The blockade is in effect an economic war applied at a global level as a result of America's dominant role in the world economy." The US alone controls almost half of all multinationals, including eight of the 10 largest corporations worldwide. The superpower is also one of the world's major investors and traders: it owns one quarter of all direct foreign investments, and imports 22 per cent of all merchandise. In addition, the US owns 11 of the 14 largest multinationals in the information technology (IT) sector and absorbs around 80 per cent of global electronics trade. Out of the 10 pharmaceutical giants that control approximately half of the world's sales, five are US corporations. Within this globalised context, the US had previously put legislation in place to extend the terms of the blockade to reach far beyond US borders. In 1992, the US Congress passed the Torricelli Act which prohibits foreign subsidiaries of US multinationals to trade with Cuba under the threat of severe sanctions. This creative piece of legislation also imposes a six-months- long ban from US ports on ships having anchored in Cuban waters. In 1996, the already draconian terms of Torricelli were further toughened by the Helms- Burton bill, also known as the Cuban Liberty and Democracy Act. Liberty and Democracy US- style requires, for example, that imports into the US be free of offensive Cuban ingredients. Prior to being granted import permits, traders have to prove that their imports don't contain socialist sugar or nickel. A truly unique bill, Liberty and Democracy also projects the modalities of a post- Castro era, following "regime change" on the island. According to Cuban government sources, the 46-year long blockade -- the longest in trade history -- has cost the Cuban people more than $82 billion in lost revenue. The bad news is that the Bush administration has managed to tighten its grip and throttle the Cuban economy to unprecedented levels, in addition to blocking travel from and to the island. For example, in January 2005 the Office of Foreign Assets Control reinterpreted the regulations on travel in such a way that US citizens are no longer allowed to participate in meetings in Cuba sponsored by UN agencies based in the US, unless they obtain a permit from the US government. In 2004 a total of 77 companies, banks and NGOs from the US and other countries were fined for violating the blockade. In a highly uncharacteristic move, the Bush administration's 2004 crackdown included slapping sanctions on US banks along with everybody else. Needless to say, Cuba is not permitted to deal with US banks and financial institutions, including their overseas and regional subsidiaries. Another of the more creative terms of the blockade prohibits Cuba from using the dollar in its overseas transactions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuba has the distinction of being the only country never to have received a credit from the World Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank in 46 years. How does the blockade translate on the ground? A few examples among many: the Chiron Corporation, a US manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, has suspended all sales to Cuba after it was fined $168,500 last year because one of its European subsidiaries exported two children's vaccines to Cuba. The Danish Sabroe Corporation was recently acquired by York Company, a US enterprise which immediately cancelled the sale of refrigerator compressors to Cuba. The compressors were ordered to provide all seven-to-13-year-old children with refrigerated soy yoghurt. Helmes-Burton also prohibits companies in third countries to sell goods or services to Cuba that utilise US technology or contain more than 10 per cent of US added value. The US has accordingly prohibited the Dutch company Intervet from selling avian vaccines to Cuba alleging that they contain an antigen produced in the US. On the same basis, the Japanese High Technologies Corporation could not sell an electron microscope to a prestigious Cuban hospital in October 2004. Pressures from the State Department and fear of sanctions have reportedly compromised the supply of life-saving technology, including radiology and dialysis equipment and artificial breathing machines. Despite the hardship, the Cuban people remain committed to their revolution. "We are optimistic and our economy continues to grow, especially in the service and IT sectors. In fact we are expecting to reach a nine per cent growth rate this year," says Ambassador Fernàndez. "And the Cuban people will continue to defend their right to build a society that is more just and humane."
