Health and Human Services Committee Chair Darryl Brackeen, Jr. on Tuesday.
New Haven and … Cuba?
The city made its bid for a potential spot in U.S. diplomatic history Tuesday, as alders voted unanimously in support of a nonbinding resolution urging President Joe Biden to resume an Obama-era rapprochement with the Caribbean island nation.
Local legislators took that vote during the latest regular monthly meeting of the full Board of Alders. The in-person meeting was held in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
Th resolution urges President Biden to resume a policy initiated by former President Barack Obama “to build a new cooperative relationship between the United States and Cuba and to immediately end all aspects of the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.”
The measure was drafted and submitted to the Board of Alders by the city’s Peace Commission. Thanks to Tuesday’s vote, New Haven now joins such cities as Hartford, Chicago, and Pittsburgh in passing municipal-level resolutions that call for a federal foreign-policy change in regards to normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
This resolution “speaks for itself,” Health and Human Services Committee Chair and Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, Jr. said in support of the item. He said that it was delayed a few years because of the pandemic. “We feel very good about what’s happened with this policy moving forward,” he said.
“The resolution is to … remove the blockades against Cuba,” he continued, “in order for history to move forward in the way that President Obama set for it in the past.”
Newhallville Alder Devin Avshalom-Smith, who is a member of the Peace Commission, praised the commission’s “good intention and hard work” in putting together the resolution, and he called on his colleagues to support it.
Click here to read about a recent committee hearing about the U.S.-Cuba resolution, and see below to read the full text of the resolution.
RESOLUTION OF THE NEW HAVEN BOARD OF ALDERS URGING PRESIDENT BIDEN TO RETAKE THE POLICY INITIATED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BUILD A NEW COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA AND TO IMMEDIATELY END ALL ASPECTS OF THE UNITED STATES ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA
Whereas, in 1960 the United States government imposed an economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, and
Whereas, on December 17, 2014 President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations between the two countries, and
Whereas executive actions by President Obama easing certain regulations were reversed by the Trump administration which further tightened the embargo, and
Whereas trade between the United States and Cuba benefits both countries, particularly in the area of agriculture and medicine, and
Whereas an act to end the embargo would enable New Haven area enterprises to collaborate with Cuba’s advanced bio-technical and medical research institutions in the areas of drug development, clinical tests, genetics, and medical devices, thus enhancing economic development and employment opportunities in our region, now, and
Whereas, the COVID-19 pandemic requires international cooperation to conquer this disease world-wide as the U.S. embargo of Cuba is a major contributor to shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies, especially a lack of syringes to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Whereas, in March 2021 Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro was one of 79 members of Congress who signed a letter to President Biden to ease restrictions on Cuba and end the blockade
Whereas, in June 2021 the United Nations, for the 20th year in a row, in near unanimous vote, called for an end to the U.S. embargo against Cuba
Whereas, as a United Nations Peace Messenger City the people of our city join in this urgent call
Resolved that the New Haven Board of Alders urges President Biden to retake the policy initiated by President Obama to build a new cooperative relationship between the United States and Cuba, made more urgent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and be it further
Resolved that the New Haven Board of Alders urges Congress and the President to immediately end all aspects of the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, and be it further
Resolved that copies of this resolution be sent to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and other appropriate officials.