At the 2019 convention DSA adopted a resolution to support Cuba Solidarity work and to join the National Network on Cuba, which today we are a proud member of. In 2021 we reaffirmed this by adopting in the DSA Political Platform a commitment to work on normalizing relations with Cuba, advocating for lifting sanctions, and joining the Sao Paulo Forum to continue working with mass socialist parties in Latin America.
DSA is uniquely posited to mobilize a national grassroots campaign to counter US sanctions. We are beginning to build a broad network of DSA organizers who can engage in all forms of work. If you are interested in receiving more information about upcoming meetings, events, or actions, please fill out the form below!
DSA IC Demands Cuba Be Removed From State Sponsors of Terrorism List
February 14, 2023
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The DSA International Committee calls on President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and the U.S. State Department to immediately remove Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terror and to begin the process of normalizing relations. The DSA International Committee reiterates its condemnation of economic sanctions against the Republic of Cuba, joining the overwhelming majority of the world’s countries that voted to condemn the embargo during the United Nations general assembly in November, and calls on members of congress to remove travel, trade, and financial restrictions against Cuba. The Democratic Socialists of America (through the IC) expresses its solidarity with the Cuban people in their revolutionary and socialist struggle against United States imperialism and issues a call to action for every chapter to commit to fighting the embargo through the International Committee’s Cuba working group.
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Chapter Call to Action: Sign on to commit your chapter to fight the US blockade on Cuba!
January, 2023
Now is the time for DSA and YDSA chapters across the country to get involved with this vital work to end the blockade! The Cuba Solidarity Working Group, working through the IC Americas Subcommittee, is calling on local DSA and YDSA chapters to commit to fighting to end the US Blockade on Cuba by supporting the following goals:
- Our chapter will select a liaison to contribute to national Cuba organizing and coordinate the sharing of information, resources, and calls to action back with our chapter.
- Our chapter will promote and sign on to coordinated national statements and campaigns with other DSA chapters and partner organizations that seek to dismantle key elements of the blockade, including congressional pressure campaigns.
- Our chapter will seek to support local, municipal, and state government resolutions for Cuba normalization.
- Our chapter will participate in national political education events about the blockade and seek to organize events for members locally.
- Our chapter will share and promote opportunities for members to travel to Cuba on trips coordinated by DSA and partner organizations.
DSA and YDSA chapter leaders, please fill out the form below to sign your chapter up to participate:
DSA Cuba Healthcare Delegation
September, 2022
In September DSA sent its first official delegation to Cuba to meet with and learn from Cuban doctors and healthcare providers on their response to the pandemic, healthcare system, medical advances, and the impacts of US sanctions on Cuba’s medical system. The delegation also observed the Families Code referendum, one of the most progressive LGBTQ+ right laws in the world, which passed on 9/25 with 67% of people voting in favor and thereby codifying same sex marriage and expanded adoption and parental rights.
Cuba’s “Families Code”: A Reading & Discussion
DSA’s International Committee shares a short lecture and discussion of Cuba’s (at the time, upcoming) Families Law referendum. We cover the law itself and the consultative legislative process that produced it.
DSA chapters organize to demand an end to the US blockade on Cuba
November 15, 2021
DSA demands an end to the US embargo on Cuba, and calls on President Biden to immediately lift the blockade on COVID aid to Cuba
November 14, 2021
Share statement page/ Spanish translation
DSA International Committee (DSA IC) calls for an end to the US embargo on Cuba, beginning with immediate executive actions from the Biden administration to reverse Trump-era policies and lift restrictions on COVID-19 aid to Cuba.
Cuba, a longtime target of US interference, faces a moment of crisis in the wake of COVID-19. Through media campaigns, unsubstantiated allegations of so-called “Havana Syndrome,” and antagonizing legislation like the recent HR 760, the present US administration has chosen to exploit this crisis, inflicting greater harm on both the Cuban people and Cuban-American families.
The pretense of these actions is to advance “democracy” in Cuba, but let us be clear: The US embargo on Cuba is the primary detriment to quality of life for Cubans, and the primary force of instability on the island.
Responding to the current demonstrations, we reject any narrative that places blame squarely on Havana for the effects of a longstanding US embargo. At the core of this instability is a cruel and inhumane blockade. Any concern for human rights begins with the immediate dismantling of the embargo imposed on Cuba by the US government.
The US embargo has profoundly hindered Cuba’s ability to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, creating shortages of critical medical materials. While Cuba has now secured enough syringes to vaccinate 90% of their population, they have a shortage of raw materials to produce more vaccines to help the struggling Global South. They intended on sending vaccines to Vietnam, Venezuela, Mexico and Nicaragua, but this is all being actively prevented by the Biden administration.
Further, due to the Cuban government being designated a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the Trump administration (despite not engaging in or supporting any form of terrorism), companies will not sell medical supplies or other essential goods to Cuba for fear of incurring fines or criminal prosecution.
To ease the immediate short-term suffering of the Cuban people, DSA IC calls upon President Biden to 1) lift the restrictions on COVID-19 aid and related medical materials, 2) ease restrictions on remittances to Cuban families to ease short-term economic hardship, and 3) remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list to legalize all financial transactions for medical export and trade.
All these measures can be implemented immediately through executive action by President Biden.
To President Biden: Respect your pledge to return to normal diplomatic relations. Reject these Trump-era policies and return to the strategy of peaceful dialogue. You have the power to instantly ease the suffering of millions of people.
Until this unjust blockade is dismantled, medicine and vaccines must be immediately accessible to all. DSA IC calls for peace in the interest of human rights, and respect for Cuban sovereignty.
DSA says let Cuba live. End the blockade.
DSA Says Let Cuba Live: Ending the US Blockade Today
Panelists: Gail Walker, Manolo De Los Santos, Daniel Montero, Brendan James
September 30, 2021
US sanctions have besieged socialist Cuba for over six decades. While 2018 UN estimates have calculated a direct loss of $130b in trade alone, the toll of the embargo on Cuban life can hardly be quantified. Most recently, US economic interference has stymied Cuba’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in deteriorating conditions on the island. With escalating tensions coming from the Biden administration against the Cuban people, solidarity is more timely than ever.
DSA Cuba study guide and additional resources
DSA-Cuba-Study-GuideDSA condemns all acts of aggression against the Republic of Cuba by the United States
November 3, 2020
In September of 2020, the United States government issued a new wave of economic sanctions aimed against the Republic of Cuba. These latest sanctions, in yet another attempt to subvert the Cuban economy, target consumer goods and Cuban hotels. In this latest escalation, the administration has once again made clear their intent to annihilate Cuban sovereignty, Cuban socialism, and to terrorize the nation’s millions of inhabitants.
The U.S. blockade of Cuba is the longest continuous embargo in modern history. This imperialist policy has been the cause of hardship and family separations spanning decades. The United Nations has voted overwhelmingly to condemn U.S. sanctions against Cuba every year since 1992. The U.S. sanctions impede the inflow of necessary materials and fatally hamper Cuban development. While 2018 UN estimates have calculated a direct loss of $130b in trade alone, the toll of the embargo on Cuban life can hardly be quantified.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) condemn the shameful U.S. embargo of the Republic of Cuba. DSA declares solidarity with the Cuban people in their struggle against U.S. aggression, and pledges to marshal our resources in the battle to end the illegal blockade.