Lawmakers Ask Administration to Verify Humanitarian Aid Can Get to Cuba

More than 25 lawmakers asked the Trump administration to confirm that it is not stopping humanitarian trade with Cuba amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a May 5 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the lawmakers, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said public health “must take precedence” over trade restrictions. The lawmakers referenced reports (see 2005040019 and 2004080024) that foreign companies have been unable to deliver aid to Cuba “due to burdensome regulatory and reporting requirements” and “fear of prosecution” by the U.S. “This is dangerous and contrary to our longstanding tradition of not politicizing the delivery of humanitarian aid,” the letter said.