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2.THE EXTRATERRITORIAL NATURE OF THE POLICY OF BLOCKADE

A brief overview of the main acts of legislation that serve as the basis for the extraterritorial application of the policy of blockade will suffice to demonstrate the immorality and illegitimacy of the United States' claim that the blockade is a bilateral issue between two countries.

In 1992, as a result of the triumphalism reigning in the United States after its strategic victory in the so-called Cold War, the prevalent view among the country's imperialist circles was that the time had come to destroy the Cuban Revolution once and for all. This was what led to the adoption of the Cuban Democracy Act, better known as the Torricelli Act.

At the time the Torricelli Act was signed, Cuba acquired vital goods like medicine and food from foreign branches or affiliates of U.S. companies based in third countries. In 1991, the volume of trade with these subsidiaries was around 718 million dollars, of which 91% comprised food and medicine. This trade was drastically cut off as a result of the Torricelli Act.

By virtue of this legislation, ships registered in any nation that touched port in Cuba or transported goods to or on behalf of Cuba were prohibited from entering U.S. ports for a period of 180 days and threatened with inclusion on a "black list", in open violation of the basic norms of freedom of trade and navigation enshrined in international law, international agreements and United Nations provisions on this matter.

As if this contempt and violation of international law were not sufficient, in 1996 the United States adopted the so-called Helms-Burton Act, aimed not only at obstructing trade between Cuba and the rest of the world, but also at halting the incipient process of foreign investment in Cuba in the form of capital, technology and markets.

With this legislation, the United States assumed the right to officially and publicly decide on issues that should be exclusive attributes of the sovereignty of other states.

In addition, the act instructs the Secretary of State to prohibit entry into the United States for all officials and executives of companies that violate the iron-clad blockade against Cuba, denying them free access to U.S. territory and obliging the Secretary of State to compile a list of "excludables".

While both pieces of legislation intensified and aggravated this unacceptable violation of international law, by giving it a congressional seal and presidential approval, the provisions that preceded them and their practical application had always entailed transgressions against the sovereignty of other nations.
The U.S. government has applied its own legislation on an extraterritorial basis, in contempt of third countries' legitimate interests in investing in and developing normal economic and commercial relations with Cuba. It has unleashed persecution on companies and their personnel for establishing or even proposing to establish economic, commercial or scientific and technical relations with Cuba.

Not a single sector of the Cuban economy has escaped the extraterritorial effects of this policy. Of the 625 million dollars in damages to Cuban foreign trade in the year 2002 as a consequence of the blockade, 178.2 million dollars, or 26%, were a direct result of its extraterritorial effect.

There are more than sufficient examples to demonstrate the continuity of this policy, to which there are no exceptions, not even among the United States' closest allies. Here are just a few:

- As part of its normal consular banking operations, the Cuban Embassy in the United Kingdom attempted to cash a check for 30,000 pounds sterling at Citibank N.A. The check had been issued by First Choice Holidays as payment for tourist cards. The travel agency in question had been purchasing these cards for several years and had always paid for them with Citibank checks, which had previously been cashed without difficulty of any kind.

However, in November of 2002, the check was returned. Citibank stated that it could not honor the check because of the United States' sanctions against Cuba. The travel agency was surprised by the bank's response and issued another check from a U.K. bank, which was cashed without difficulty.

Citibank N.A. of London is a branch of a U.S. bank and this incident, according to a written communication from Citibank, was a direct result of the U.S. blockade on Cuba, made extensive to branches or banks overseas.

- In February of 2003, the U.K. company ITS Caleb Brett, which had been providing services for more than 25 years to the Cuban company Servicios Internacionales de Supervisión CUBACONTROL S.A., decided to cut off all ties with Cuba, in compliance with the Cuban Assets Control Regulations of the U.S. Treasury Department.

ITS Caleb Brett circulated instructions to all of its branches around the world to turn down all requests for service from Cuba and to refuse to provide services for any shipments transported to or from the island. In view of this situation, the Cuban company was obliged to seek out other companies to provide the same services.

- On October 7, 2002, the Cuban company Aerocarribean was forced to cease operating a Boeing 737 plane leased from the Chilean company Skyservice and return it immediately to Chile, its country of registration. The hastiness of this withdrawal stemmed from the fact that the Chilean company had cancelled its contract with Cuba as a result of pressures from the U.S. government. This was confirmed by a written communication sent by Boeing, which stated that owing to decisions adopted by the U.S. government, it was unable to provide products, services or any other means of support to Skyservice in view of its charter operations to Cuba. As a result, in addition to other damages, the Cuban company lost close to one million dollars through its inability to fulfill contracts signed with third parties and the cancellation of negotiations to establish charter flights.

- In a blatantly extraterritorial application of the policy of blockade against Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department arbitrarily keeps a list of "specially designated nationals" of Cuba. This list includes the Japanese company Kyoei International, which has close ties with Cuba. As a result of this measure, which is clearly aimed at intimidating other companies, Toyota and Mitsubishi have refused to make direct sales to Cuba so as not to meet with the same fate as Kyoei and to protect their ties with the U.S. market.

- In early February of 2003, a report was published on the Internet by Fairplay Daily News, announcing that Ceres Terminals Inc., a U.S. company that operates the Fairview Cove container terminal in Halifax, Canada, had refused to quote stevedoring rates for the Italian shipping line Costa, because the line touches port in Havana. This decision was allegedly based on the advice of their lawyers, out of fear of potential problems with Washington due to the presence of containers loaded in the port of Havana.

- In early 2003, negotiations for the purchase by Cuba of baby food containers were frustrated by the foreign supplier's fear of sanctions under the Helms-Burton Act. The search for a new supplier led to a considerable delay in the contracting and subsequent purchase of the product in question, with obvious consequences for the Cuban industry involved.

- On March 23, 2003, a ship left Havana with a container of 1, 894 boxes of Tropical Island brand juice, produced by the Cuban company Río Zaza and purchased by the Japanese company ASHU-4. There were plans for a stopover in a port along the way.

Based on the decision made by one of the shipping company's specialists to save five days sailing time, the stopover was made in the port of Los Angeles, U.S.A. Under pressure from U.S. federal authorities, the container was seized, allegedly in compliance with the restrictions imposed by the blockade. This incident proves what an irrational and ridiculous extent the policy of blockade can reach.

The United States, self-proclaimed champion of free trade around the world, is the same country that seeks to force the entire world to participate in the blockade against Cuba, violating the most basic norms of free trade.

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