To promote a peaceful transition to a Cuba that respects human rights
and political and economic freedoms
Castro regime remains silent on humanitarian flights from USA. Deadly national vaccine campaign. Havana, Beijing, and Pyongyang highlight their close relations.
Havana wishes to maintain monopoly control over distribution of assistance and zero transparency. Last year the Castro regime seized a humanitarian shipment that would have helped tens of thousands of Cubans, and they continue to block grassroots efforts today. The Biden Administration in early July 2021 granted a temporary authorization from the US Department of Transportation for cargo airlines IBC Airways and Skyway Enterprises to travel to the island with humanitarian cargo. According to 14ymedio the "permit, which will be in force until November 30 and was made public on August 13, includes charter flights 'for emergency medical purposes, search and rescue, and other trips considered of interest to the United States.'” Two months have passed and there is still no response from Havana, despite the urgent need on the ground.
U.S. Press Secretary Jen Psaki in her August 27, 2021 press briefing when asked about the fate of over 3 million COVID vaccines donated to Afghanistan, and the number of vaccinations there had dropped significantly since the Taliban took over cited the example of the Castro regime, " and for individual — for countries we work with — and remember, this was an issue with Cuba, right? — we need to have mechanisms to ensure that they are getting out to the populations who need to get access to the vaccines"
They would rather highlight shipments from their allies in Beijing and Moscow, but this raises other troubling questions. For example, now Cuba is accepting China's Sinopharm vaccine. Why didn't Havana do this beginning in January or February when the rest of Latin America did and Cuba did not have "home grown" vaccines? Why are they doing it now when they have the "home grown" vaccines that they claim are up to 92.8% effective (but have not been peer reviewed), compared to China's sinopharm vaccine that is only 50.4% to 72% effective?
One possible answer is that the dictatorship wanted to win a propaganda victory, even if it cost thousands of Cuban lives. Official regime journalist Leticia Martinez Hernandez over Twitter on May 18, 2021 bragged that "Cuba will be the first country in the world to vaccinate their whole population with their own vaccines. Live to see!" She even replied to her own Tweet that she would keep the above "tweet fixed until then. I want to remember the feat on which we have bet." Her tweets have not aged well, but she is not alone.
The Castro regime's foreign ministry on June 9, 2021 repeated the same campaign theme as the official journalist did the previous month: "Cuba could be the first country to immunize its entire population with its own vaccines. The population wants and trusts the vaccine candidates, our science, and the country's experience in vaccine development." To achieve this they had to reject using alternative vaccines over the six months that they were available, because their "homegrown vaccines" had not been ready for clinical trials until May 2021 in Havana, and in the rest of the island until June. Mind you that as of August 30, 2021 none of the Cuban vaccines have been peer reviewed.
Little wonder that Havana would like to shift the focus of discussion.
