House Dems Urge Biden to Provide Assistance to Cuba Amid Fire Disaster

A trio of House Democrats on Wednesday publicly urged President Joe Biden to provide immediate assistance to Cuba amid the catastrophic oil fire devastating parts of the nearby island.

“We are deeply concerned about the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Matanzas, Cuba, less than 150 miles from our border,” Reps. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), and Jim McGovern (Mass.) said in a joint statement. “Crises such as this demand an urgent and meaningful response from neighboring countries.”

The lawmakers called on the Biden administration “to immediately offer the appropriate assistance to facilitate international response efforts following explosions at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas.”

They also implored the White House “to suspend any relevant sanctions in order to expedite such a response, and to deliver much-needed humanitarian relief to the hundreds of Cuban citizens affected by this crisis, as well as the many more facing multiple and cascading crises in Cuba, including shortages of food, energy, and medicine.”

Despite Democratic lawmakers’ pleas and Biden’s own campaign pledge to reverse his predecessor’s “failed” approach to Cuba—which included implementing more than 200 punitive policies following Obama-era efforts at normalization—the president has imposed additional sanctions in recent months, intensifying Washington’s 60-year embargo on the Caribbean island.

Moreover, Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich.) legislative attempt to make it easier for Cuba to import food grown by U.S. farmers was defeated just three weeks ago.

While Lee said Wednesday that she spoke with Lianys Torres Rivera, Cuban ambassador to the United States, to “express solidarity with Cuba as they respond to the fires in Mantanzas,” it remains unclear what, if anything, the White House has done to help Cuban officials since the ongoing blaze erupted last Friday after lightning struck the nation’s largest oil storage facility.

“We fear that the significant recovery efforts needed in Matanzas will push an already resource-strapped Cuba closer to the brink,” said Meeks, Lee, and McGovern, the respective chairs of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and the House Rules Committee.

“Now is the time to put politics aside and prioritize humanitarian engagement, environmental protection, and regional cooperation,” they added.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.