WHEREAS:  President Biden has the authority to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list by executive order, and to recommit to the normalization of relations with Cuba begun by the Obama-Biden administration; and

WHEREAS:  For the past 62 years, the United States has imposed an economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba that prevents most engagement and trade with the United States, and punishes other countries that engage with Cuba; and

WHEREAS:  The consequences of this embargo continues to inflict daily hardships and deprivations on the Cuban people creating shortages of basic necessities like food and medicine, and severely restricting international financial and trade opportunities. It prevents Cuba from obtaining vital medical equipment and supplies, and even impedes humanitarian aid responses to catastrophic events like Hurricane Ian which devastated both Florida and Cuba, thus harming the Cuban people who President Biden’s administration claims to support; and

WHEREAS:  The United Nations in 2017 estimated that this embargo had cost the Cuban economy $130 billion, averaging more than $2 billion each year; and

WHEREAS:  The United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn the U.S. embargo against Cuba, for the 30^th time, on Nov. 3, 2022, with 185 of 193 nations decisively voting in favor, and only the United States and Israel opposed; and 

WHEREAS:  The Trump administration imposed 243 new sanctions upon Cuba, including restrictions on Cuban Americans who send remittances to families and businesses in Cuba. These sanctions contribute to a mass migration of Cubans, creating U.S. border security concerns; and

WHEREAS:  Former President Trump arbitrarily reinstated Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism less than a week after the January 6^th attempted coup, reversed the Obama-Biden administration’s 2015 decision to remove this status after an exhaustive review by the U.S. State Department. Cuba does not satisfy any criteria for inclusion on this list; and

WHEREAS:  Cuba’s arbitrary designation has subjected them to further sanctions and international financial restrictions that limit the nation’s ability to carry out critical financial transactions, including those needed to advance efforts to combat the COVID pandemic and improve its economy; and

WHEREAS:  In 2021, 117 members of the U.S. Congress called for the removal of Cuba from this list noting in a letter; “a policy of engagement with Cuba serves U.S. interests and those of the Cuban people,”

Therefore:

Be it RESOLVED that ____________________________   strongly urges President Biden and Congress, each federal representative in its jurisdiction, to call on the federal government to remove Cuba from the United States list of state sponsors of terrorism; and

Be It Further RESOLVED that ___________________________ urges our congressional delegation to pass legislation that will eliminate those aspects of the embargo that have been codified into law; and remove all sanctions against Cuba by the United States. Allow the peoples of the United States and Cuba to travel and trade freely between the countries.

Be It Further RESOLVED that ___________________________issues a press release regarding the details of this resolution to its media contacts within its jurisdiction.