Thursday, January 22, 2009
The long reach of the blockade of Cuba
The latest manifestation of the reach of the economic blockade the U.S. maintains on Cuba:
Recently, Chilean consumers stormed the liquor section of dozens of supermarket locations throughout Chile, snatching all the Cuban rum they could buy.For 17 consecutive years, the world has condemned the extraterritorial nature of the U.S. blockade, as exhibited here, most recently by a vote of 185-3 in the U.N. General Assembly. For 17 consecutive years, the U.S. has raised its middle finger to the world.
The reason for the rum rush: Wal-Mart is coming to town, and it refuses to sell Cuban products.
On Dec. 23, the giant U.S. retailer made a bid to control all the shares of D&S, the company that owns Supermarket Lider, Chile's largest supermarket chain. The deal is due to be finalized Jan. 22.
Even before the deal was finalized, D&S announced that it would stop selling more than 40 products from countries subject to U.S. embargo or blockade, including the popular Cuban rum, in line with Wal-Mart's strict compliance with the U.S. blockade of Cuban products.
