14ymedio, Havana, 22 March 2022 — The United States “is clearing the way” for increased food exports to Cuba.” The U.S. embassy in Havana made the announcement in a tweet in which it also stated that agricultural products worth almost 300 million dollars were exported to Cuba in 2021.
“The Cuban people face a scarcity of food, medicine and other daily essentials,” wrote Brian A. Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. “Through prioritized licenses and exports the U.S. government has and will continue to provide these life-giving needs for the Cuban people,” he added.
Another and broader statement issued by the embassy notes that the embargo on Cuba allows exemptions for “private citizens and religious groups” which include shipments of “food, medicine and medical equipment that the Cuban people desperately need during a historic crisis.”
Besides food and medicine, the U.S. also “routinely” allows exports of telecommunication items “to improve communication to, from and among the Cuban people provided they do not go to prohibited Cuban officials or high-ranking members of the Cuban Communist Party,” the statement explains.
Likewise, the Biden Administration says that the U.S. State Department is working with NGOs and private-sector companies to “accelerate the export of basic goods and medical equipment such as syringes, personal protective equipment and much-needed food.” It adds that the State Department , together with the Department of Transportation, has granted approval for two private charter airlines to deliver more than 2.7 tons of aid to cities throughout Cuba.
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