Washington: A group of US-based activists started a 1,300-mile rally from the city of Miami to the nation’s capital in order to call on authorities in Washington, DC to lift the embargo on Cuba, participant Phil Wilayto said on Tuesday. “Cuban-American activist Carlos Lazo and his group Puentes de Amor (Bridges of Love) are conducting a 1,300-mile walk from Miami to Washington, DC, where they will speak at a rally to demand an end to the U.S. blockade and travel restrictions imposed against Cuba,” Wilayto, a founding member of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, said in a statement provided to Sputnik. On their way to the capital, the activists will stop in different cities to explain their position and urge Americans to support lifting Cuba-related limitations.
“The seven-member group will be stopping in Richmond on Monday, July 19, to speak on these issues and more at a public meeting,” Wilayto added. US restrictions on trade with Cuba date back to the island nation’s communist revolution in the late 1950s and involve at least a half dozen different US laws. President Barack Obama took steps to normalize bilateral relations with the island, but many of those steps were reversed by the former administration of Donald Trump. Over the four years, the Trump administration added 243 new economic sanctions to toughen the embargo on Cuba.
On June 23, the United States voted against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the embargo on Cuba, which was adopted by the overwhelming majority of 184 other nations.
