Left I on the News

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.

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.

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.