Time to help defend Cuba!

CUBA! NOW IS THE TIME

Cuba is under US siege and so too is Cuban healthcare. MAINE FRIENDS OF CUBA asks Maine people and everyone else, anywhere, to lend a hand.

US political leaders want to finish off Cuba’s government. An executive order on January 29 imposed tariffs on any nation shipping oil to Cuba. Cubans now face a total oil blockade. The US Navy enforces it. Reports indicate Cuba’s oil reserves will run out during March.

Cuba’s own oil production and solar-generated energy accounts for almost half of Cuba’s energy needs. The rest comes from imported oil and there’s no more of that.  

This oil blockade tops off 65 years of a cruel, illegal, and immoral US economic, commercial, and financial blockade. Its reach is worldwide. In Cuba now, streets are empty of traffic, shops and production units are closed, food is costly and scarce, pharmacy shelves are bare, healthcare is badly impaired – and Cubans are dying.

Chuck Idelson of National Nurses United refers to a “rising mortality rate among the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. He points out that more than 32,000 pregnant women are classified as being at high risk. Infant deaths have risen from 4.0 per 1000 births in 2018, to 6.3 in 2022, to 7.1 in 2024, to 14 deaths per 1000 in early 2026. 

It’s war. Economic sanctions like the US economic blockade of Cuba are lethal. A study reported recently in the Lancet medical journal shows that worldwide, since 1950, “unilateral sanctions were associated with an annual toll of 564,258 deaths.” This is “similar to the global mortality burden associated with armed conflict.”  

Cuba is unified and fighting back. And so too are Maine people. Maine Friends of Cuba joins solidarity organizations everywhere and nations that care. We are asking you to join with us and many others in helping Cuba repair and restore her remarkable healthcare system.

Maine Friends of Cuba is not alone. Global Health Partners launched its Cuban Medical Project in 1994 to “pierce the illegal U.S. embargo and provide large-scale assistance to the country’s public health system.” The organization writes that, “You helped us send six million Covid vaccination syringes and 795 cardiac pacemakers to Cuba along with more than $275 million worth of desperately needed medicines and surgical equipment.” 

Now Global Health Partners is promoting “an innovative, neonatal and maternal healthcare project to bring down the country’s fast-rising infant mortality rate.”  The effort, “launched in partnership with Cuba’s Health Ministry, is a pilot project slated for replication across the island. We’re beginning with two targeted hospitals.” 

Global Health Partners says that “A generous GHP friend is contributing a $100,000 startup match to meet this urgent need. For every dollar we commit to this exciting project, they’ll match it — making your gift go twice as far.”

Lend a hand to Cuba!

Global Health Partners has a U.S. Commerce Department license to send medical supplies to Cuba. You can make an immediate tax-deductible donation to GHP at www.ghpartners.org  Or send your check to Global Health Partners at 39 Broadway, Suite 1540, New York, NY 10006. (“Sutures” on the memo line)

We of Maine Friends of Cuba urge anyone reading this plea to send a donation – whatever you can – to Global Health Partners. Lend a hand to a neighbor in need. Break the U.S. siege of this island nation. Honor Cuba’s achievement against all odds of ensuring the basic needs of every Cuban. Say no to U.S. bullying and U.S. violations of international law.    

Please email us at tomwhit3557@gmail.com with any questions you have about this solicitation and about Cuba. And let us know that you donated – so we can see how we are doing. Thank you.

  Petition to the Maine Congressional Delegation

We condemn recent U.S. war making, in particular assault on Iran (February 28, 2026), attack on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro (January 3, 2026), and oil blockade of Cuba (January 29, 2026) – preceded by 65 years of economic blockade.

We call on our legislators to:

·  Enact an effective War Powers Resolution and return to principles of sovereign equality as mandated by Article 2 of the UN Charter

·  Halt unauthorized military operations against Iran.

·  End the fuel blockade of Cuba (Executive Order 14380); prevent humanitarian catastrophe there.

·  Repeal lethal economic sanctions targeting civilian populations and violating international law.

·  Restore diplomatic relations based on mutual respect and international law.

Name (Printed)	Signature	Town	Date

Petition sponsors are Maine Friends of Cuba and Public Interest Forum of Maine. Please return signed petitions to Maine Friends of Cuba, c/o project coordinator, Tom Whitney at tomwhit3557@gmail.com or 102 Twitchell Rd., South Paris, ME 04281. (207) 743-2183. Thank you.