• IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    18 days ago

    This just begs the question

    Why do we allow a major embargo of an entire island nation and allow an entire people to live without the proper necessities and resources in order to maintain their nation?

    • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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      18 days ago

      The US has an embargo, but Mexico and Canada don’t. Cuba can and does buy goods from them. Cuba’s real problem is paying for them. The US does not embargo food or medicine goods to Cuba, yet the country has problems feeding their people. Poor economic management of a communist country with no real resources.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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        18 days ago

        Cuba can’t pay because Cuba can’t conduct normal finances with the rest of world because of the US embargo

        It’s like having having someone handcuff you, cuff you feet and pin you to the ground and rest their knee on your neck and ask you why you can’t get up on your own.

          • dariusj18@lemmy.world
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            18 days ago

            The question is, with what currency? The Cuban dollar is not really worth anything outside Cuba, so they can only rely on exports to fund currency needed to buy imports.

            • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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              18 days ago

              This is true, but not due to a US embargo. I should think that the state has access to many different currencies. But, in the end, they have limited resources. Cigars, some Rum (though a lot of countries distil and export rum in the Caribbean). They used to export mercenaries and doctors but noone is buying now.

              • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                17 days ago

                You don’t think being explicitly barred access from what is essentially considered “the world currency” at this point wouldn’t change their access? C’mon.

                • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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                  17 days ago

                  They’re not barred from access. Just can’t use US banks. There are many banks in the world.

                  • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
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                    17 days ago

                    They’re allowed to play monopoly, they just can’t use the regular monopoly money.

                    The global economy is run on the US dollar. It’s the measuring stick all other currencies use as a reference point.

          • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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            18 days ago

            You are technically correct … but there are several convoluted rules and regulations controlled and mandated by the US that it makes it either very difficult or impossible for most countries to do business or trade with Cuba.

            Cuba can trade with anyone they want … it’s just purposely made so difficult that very few do so and the ones who do provide very little in exchange.

            https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/19/facebook-posts/cuba-can-trade-other-countries-heres-some-context/

      • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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        17 days ago

        The US has an embargo, but Mexico and Canada don’t.

        Technically, but the US has sanctioned companies in other countries who do business in Cuba scaring off a ton of possible choices. The companies have to choose between the richest company on earth and Cuba. Not much of a choice.

        Plus IIRC boats that go to Cuba can’t go to the US after for some period of time. Which considering location makes it hugely inconvenient for shipping companies.

        Plus since the US and US based companies control a huge portion of the world’s financial systems Cuba is locked out of all of them

        • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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          17 days ago

          A citation is needed on the first paragraph

          Barges float to Cuba from the US twice a week.

          Last paragraph is true. Cuba cannot use US banking.

          • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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            17 days ago

            There are exceptions for the very few things the US authorizes to export to Cuba, but in general:

            1. What are the “180-day rule” and the “goods/passengers-on-board rule”?

            The 180-day rule is a statutory restriction prohibiting any vessel that enters a port or place in Cuba to engage in the trade of goods or the purchase or provision of services there from entering any U.S. port for the purpose of loading or unloading freight for 180 days after leaving Cuba, unless authorized by OFAC. This restriction is applied even if a vessel has stopped in Cuba solely to purchase services unrelated to the trade of goods, such as planned ship maintenance.

            https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1541

    • underwire212@lemm.ee
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      17 days ago

      Because the people there didn’t allow US capitalists to exploit them and their resources; because the people started to organize themselves and their resources around public interest; because they were voting in leaders who didn’t allow US elite to exploit them.

      And so they must be punished.

    • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      President Obama began to ease the embargo restrictions in 2016, allowing for travel and investments. It was Trump, in 2017, who reinstated the embargo in full. Probably just because Obama relaxed it.

        • foggy@lemmy.world
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          17 days ago

          Hey, too close to election for me to not fervently call out misinformation bullshit like this:

          It was The Trump Administration who signed the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-5)

          National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-5): Signed on June 16, 2017, this policy outlined the Trump administration’s approach to rolling back aspects of the Cuba normalization process. It directed restrictions on travel, business dealings with Cuban entities controlled by the military, and restrictions on educational and cultural exchanges.

          It was Donald Trump who directed the creation of the Cuba Restricted List

          The U.S. Department of State, following Trump’s directives, created a list of Cuban entities with which direct financial transactions are prohibited. This list largely includes businesses owned by or affiliated with the Cuban military, intelligence, or security services. It was first issued in November 2017 and has been updated several times since.

          Has absolutely nothing to do with Biden or his administration. Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit.

          • Frozengyro@lemmy.world
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            17 days ago

            I think he’s implying Biden didn’t roll back Trump’s policy or try to begin normalization again.

            • foggy@lemmy.world
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              17 days ago

              Oh good, let’s blame the guy who didn’t do something instead of the guy who did.

              Has absolutely nothing to do with Biden or his administration. Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit.

              • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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                17 days ago

                No of course not why would the most powerful man on earth and former VP to the president who made that progress with Cuba have any responsibility to change anything.

                He had the power and has not done it. It IS as bad as Trump’s actions to uphold them.

                • leftytighty@slrpnk.net
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                  17 days ago

                  The kid was already malnourished when I adopted it, you expect me to feed it properly?

          • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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            17 days ago

            Biden isn’t running anymore. You don’t have to defend his unwillingness to roll back Trump policy anymore.

            • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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              17 days ago

              There’s a shitton of Trump’s policies that need reversing.

              But, as always, it takes more time, effort and resources to build or fix something than it does to break them.

              Biden’s admin has been working through the heap, but some things take priority over others.

              • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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                17 days ago

                Biden’s admin has been working through the heap, but some things take priority over others.

                Particularly when it comes to foreign policy.

          • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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            17 days ago

            I was more pointing out how Biden has done little or nothing to REVERSE Trump’s regressions despite having the power to.

            • foggy@lemmy.world
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              17 days ago

              Oh good, let’s blame the guy who didn’t do something instead of the guy who did.

              Has absolutely nothing to do with Biden or his administration. Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit.

              • Aqarius@lemmy.world
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                17 days ago

                Exactly! Not doing something to stop a problem is not the same as causing it. Also, if you don’t vote for Harris you’re voting for Trump.

              • Doubletwist@lemmy.world
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                17 days ago

                It’s not about saying Biden is to blame. Trump 100% should have blame.

                But the fact that someone else STARTED (or in this case re-started) a bad thing doesn’t mean the next person in power gets a free pass for not working to stop it again.

                So it’s perfectly fair to call out Biden for not stopping the bad thing that Trump (re)started.

              • underwire212@lemm.ee
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                17 days ago

                False dichotomy.

                You can blame more than one person at a time. You don’t have to pick one or the other to blame.

                Also, straw man.

                You made assumptions about the speaker that were never originally implied.

              • leftytighty@slrpnk.net
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                17 days ago

                How convenient that the Democrats can act so powerless. If we don’t like Republican policies, and Democrats won’t change them, what’s the point of voting Democrat?

    • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      Longest embargo in US history!

      … probably done as a deterrent against other near by nations looking to station nuclear arms in close proximity.

      Stops places like Mexico, Canada, or Panama from making an offer to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia to station Nuclear their silos/launch bases for them.

      Canada is probably still thinking about it though.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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        18 days ago

        You can control a nation’s ability to import and receive nuclear weapons, especially if you are trying to control the supply of arms … it doesn’t mean you get to starve and decimate an entire country just because you don’t like their politics or they don’t happen to support you.

        • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          So, while I would agree, politics has unfortunate side effects, both internal cuban politics, and external cuban politics, as the cuban exiles really, REALLY want to get all their shit back.

          We shouldn’t be in it, but our Cubans hijacked a large part of our politics by living in such a strong swing state, so we’re at the mercy of them as much as anyone.

        • Hegar@fedia.io
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          18 days ago

          doesn’t mean you get to starve and decimate an entire country just because you don’t like their politics

          I think the history of the US and every other imperial power ever would disagree.