I'm Cuban American. For the sake of both countries, Trump's siege must end | Danny Valdes

"In an infamous 1960 cable, the US secretary of state made the case for policy to economic dissatisfaction and hardship on the island. The plan was explicit: inflict deprivation on ordinary Cubans so they turn against their government. In other words, the goal of the US embargo has always been regime change, pursued with full knowledge that the suffering would fall hardest on everyday people."

"For decades, the United States has enforced a brutal embargo against the island, forcing its exclusion from the international systems of trade, finance, and tourism under the banner of democracy promotion. Washington insists that its approach pressures the government. In reality, everyday people have always borne the weight."

"Throughout my childhood the dominant narrative in places like Miami insisted that the embargo either did not exist or had no real effect. Every shortage, every blackout, every empty shelf was blamed exclusively on the Cuban state. Politicians like Rubio carried this myth into Congress and sold it to the broader American public."

Trump's January 29 declaration of Cuba as an extraordinary threat and implementation of a full-scale fuel blockade has created immediate humanitarian crises, including food shortages and medicine access problems for Cuban families. This escalation continues a decades-long US embargo policy that has systematically excluded Cuba from international trade, finance, and tourism systems. Historical documentation reveals the embargo's explicit purpose: inflicting economic deprivation on ordinary Cubans to generate discontent against their government. Despite this documented intent, US political narratives, particularly from figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have consistently blamed Cuba's shortages on government mismanagement rather than acknowledging the embargo's role. Trump's recent actions have exposed this narrative contradiction.

Read at www.theguardian.com