As the humanitarian situation in Cuba worsens, we are called as Christians to seek right relationship and reconciliation with our neighbors by amplifying the voices of our Christian partners in Cuba calling for an end to the blockade. The United States should re-engage with Cuba, a neighbor only 90 miles off our shores, rather than continue to pursue failed strategies that inflict harm on Cubans and do not further the goals of human rights, justice, and freedom. Disagreements are better addressed through dialogue rather than isolation. Opening diplomatic channels between the US and Cuba will protect religious freedom and human rights and ending the embargo would represent real progress toward reconciliation. Encourage your senator to cosponsor the bipartisan Freedom to Export to Cuba Act and push the Biden administration to lift travel restrictions, remove Cuba from the list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” and rebuild diplomatic relations. Our neighbors in the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba have called for an end to the embargo and re-opening relations, saying: “Los efectos del bloqueo se sienten con mayor rigor sobre el pueblo de Cuba, lo que hace al mismo una ley inhumana. Mientras se juega a la política y se pretende asfixiar al gobierno cubano con medidas coercitivas de carácter económico, se producen efectos reales en la población que es quien sufre la falta de alimentos, medicamentos, etc. El bloqueo ha sido una herramienta dañina pero fallida por muchos años y varias administraciones norteamericanas.” “The people of Cuba feel the effects of the blockade most severely, making the law inhumane. While playing politics and working to suffocate the Cuban government with coercive economic measures, the blockade has produced real impacts on a population that suffers from a lack of food, medicine, etc. The blockade has been a harmful and unsuccessful tool for many years and multiple US administrations.” During his presidential campaign, then-candidate Biden promised to restore relations with Cuba, return to the Obama-era standard of working to lift the embargo, open travel, and restart diplomatic relations. President Biden should follow through with those campaign promises, and Congress should act within its power to lift the embargo. The Freedom to Export to Cuba Act is a bipartisan measure that would lift the embargo and allow businesses to trade while leaving in place key human rights and property provisions. Please encourage your senators to support the bipartisan Freedom to Export to Cuba Act and push President Biden to follow through on his campaign promises. Our faith compels us to be caring and compassionate neighbors, as illustrated by the Greatest Commandment in which Jesus charges us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) | 
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