“We are increasing our goal to 150 thousand dollars to send more aid to those facing blackouts, shortages and hurricane damage,” the organization The People’s Forum said on the social network X, which, together with the Hatuey Project and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, carry out this coordinated effort.

The initial purpose was to collect 100 thousand dollars for the purchase of food and electricity generators destined to Cuba in this context of energy emergency combined with the passage of a hurricane through the eastern part of the country.

According to the appeal published on the internet, “at this moment, Cuba is facing a serious moment of crisis. In the midst of a devastating power outage, a hurricane and the ongoing brutal U.S. blockade, the Cuban people face urgent, life-threatening conditions.”

The convocation recalled that natural disasters and the U.S. government’s deliberate attempt to strangle the Cuban economy and limit its ability to trade, have led to a grave situation in Cuba, which is why “we must act now.”

The organizations agreed that the Cuban people are resilient. “They have faced more than 65 years of a cruel U.S. blockade, but this moment is unique: the triple threat of blockade, hurricane and blackout makes this moment especially urgent,” they warned.

On Tuesday The People’s Forum published a letter in The New York Times demanding that U.S. President Joe Biden reverse in his last 90 days in office the brutal policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, toward Cuba.

In more than six decades, the blockade has cost Cuba more than 164 billion dollars in damages and some five billion dollars in losses in the last year alone (March 2023 to February 2024). The letter reiterated that every year the United States is left alone before the UN General Assembly while the world condemns this unilateral and hostile policy.

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