WASHINGTON—Events on September 2 in D.C. capped intense summer work and coordination between National Network on Cuba (NNOC), Americas without Sanctions, and Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition. The pro-Cuba groups were aware of the inhumane conditions imposed by the U.S. on multiple countries in Latin America, and that U.S. influence over elections has moved seven countries far to the right in seven recent elections. It was understood that overturning Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua’s socialist governments is the goal of this country’s Americas policy.
After lobby days on Capitol Hill in December 2024 and April 2026, the working group discussed with Delia Ramírez (D-IL) and several other Representatives the importance of having a larger hearing to support a realignment with Cuba. To continue that discussion, it was proposed to gather a panel that could provide expert testimony on various aspects of medicine, law, faith, and the effect on everyday families.
The resulting panel included Suzanne Adely, National Lawyers’ Guild President; Dr. Robert A. Turner, Pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, MD; Felix Sharp Caballero, an Afro-Cuban American and longtime Michigan civil servant; and Dr. Tanya Zakrison, a University of Chicago trauma surgeon who has studied the heightened trauma felt by Cuba with the blockade’s increase. The panelists presented their case on Capitol Hill in a shadow hearing for Congress members titled, “Breaking the Blockade: Reassessing the Moral and Legal Failures of U.S.-Cuba Policy.” This was a shadow hearing because the Democratic Party is out of power in both the House and Senate and cannot call official hearings to investigate serious domestic and international issues.
Ally groups outside of Congress publicized the hearing and invited friendly legislators. Rashida Tlaib, Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Jonathan Jackson, Chuy Garcia, Maxine Dexter and Delia Ramirez came in person, joined by staffers from Jamie Raskin’s and Mary Gay Scanlon’s offices.
Dr. Zakrison, a trauma surgeon on Chicago’s South Side, opened the testimony, pointing out that the 60-year embargo has escalated to a full blockade in stages, notably in 2017, 2019, and 2026. Even the supposed carve-outs for medical supplies are not real because the laws are so cumbersome that companies cannot afford to trade with Cuba. People in Cuba are digging into the ground to get muddy water to drink. It is an inescapable truth that there can be no water, food, or operating hospitals without electricity, and there can be no electricity without fuel.
Dr. Robert Turner presides over the Empowerment Temple AME church in Baltimore, and he traveled to Cuba this summer. That trip stripped away all the misinformation about our neighboring island he had received in his life from the U.S. government. He emphasized the warmth and initiative of the Cuban people, and that this collective punishment is the sole responsibility of the U.S. One nation taking away the sovereignty of another is an act of war.
Suzanne Adely, someone with UN consultative status, reminded us that there is no credibility in the U.S. attempt to ruin Cuba’s economy to bring about regime change—because this administration supports the criminal acts of so many countries around the world. The last panelist, Felix Sharp Caballero, a U.S. resident since 1966, is an Afro-Cuban whose family is in Cuba. He explained that there are 7,000 container ships on the ocean that are bound for Cuba but cannot reach it with supplies. If diagnosed with cancer in Cuba, it is a death sentence, because there is no chemotherapy. Doctors are unable to keep babies alive because there are not enough working ventilators. He urged this Congress to act quickly and, once the election is over, to end the blockade. Caballero also asserted that even the expatriate community is not united against Cuba, although Rep. Maria Salazar’s (R-FL) influence leads to people’s lives in Miami being threatened if they dare to speak out. Conversely, he reminded the audience that even Obama’s incomplete warming of relations with Cuba made the Cuban people feel humanized and was an important step.
The question-and-answer period focused sharply on what Congress, the faith, legal communities, and the public can do to stop the blockade’s worst effects and expose the lies spread by the U.S. government.
The significance of the shadow hearing is that a new ‘squad’ seems to be forming in the Progressive Caucus, focused on forging a better relationship among the Americas’ nations. To that end, there is an urgent push to get Jim McGovern’s (D-MA) HB 7521 (to repeal the statutory basis for the U.S. embargo and economic restrictions on Cuba) out of committee.
Another priority bill is H.Res.1056, the New Good Neighbor Act. This resolution called for annulling the Monroe Doctrine and establishing a “New Good Neighbor” policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean. It is in direct response to President Trump’s newly presented “Donroe Doctrine,” a program of aggressive interventionism across the hemisphere.
Equally significant, mass organizations, including unions like UAW Region 6 (west coast states representing 120,000 people), are passing “Solidarity with Cuba” resolutions. In Maryland, George Escobar, the new Executive Director of SOMOS CASA, has announced in no uncertain terms, “We are now an anti-imperialist organization.” CASA in Maryland is the migrant community’s largest service provider and advocate and acts as Maryland’s hotline for reporting ICE-related terror. This profound cry for justice can be answered with partnership and support from the left.
It can be argued that the hearing raises important movement questions about how to build power. A rising core of Congresspeople want to work with the left; can a greater number of people/organizations that are vocal against U.S. economic and military war on Cuba be brought together? Can more candidates who criticize the U.S. power relationship in Latin America and call for a new, genuine good-neighbor policy run campaigns?
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