 Hi, my name is Michelle Elner and I'm going to show you why when U.S. officials say that food and medicine are exempt from U.S. sanctions, that's just a load of c*****. Cuba is about 20 million syringes short of the 30 million it needs to vaccinate its population. So at Code Pink, we partnered with global health partners to raise $100,000 to send syringes and medical supplies to Cuba. Technically, Cuba can legally purchase syringes from the U.S., but their inability to access the Swift banking system makes payment to manufacturers everywhere very challenging. Because of the blockade, Cuba has very little hard currency. That is why essential medicines and medical supplies are either in short supply or non-existent. The global demand for syringes has increased in price by 200 to 300%. U.S. manufacturers don't need sales to Cuba or want to navigate through the banking and licensing issues related to Cuba's sales. Put it simply, nobody wants to be in the U.S. treasurer's departments crosshairs these days. So it's easier to simply ride off potential Cuba sales. But global health partners made all the very long and complicated paperwork to obtain a license so we could send syringes to Cuba. On May the 18th, we opened a GoFundMe campaign that was immediately blocked just for containing the word Cuba. They wrote back asking a bunch of questions which we answered. But then again, they had more questions on May the 24th, then again on June the 2nd and then again on June 6th. They had some problems understanding why we named the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba as the recipient of the aid and not the hospitals listed on the license. We kindly referred them to the Cuban constitution to explain that unlike the U.S., in Cuba there are no private hospitals or clinics as all health services are government run. More than a month has passed since we began our campaign and we still don't have the green light even though we are in compliance with the regulations set by the Treasury Department. So as you can see, the excessive caution or overcompliance leaves only a small amount of companies and banks with the capacity to finance trade with Cuba at a higher price which falls on the Cubans and a willingness to accept the increased financial and legal risks. And even if there's a license, as in our case, the tedious paperwork and verification processes often get translated into greater cost and then the delays. Cubans are trying hard to vaccinate their people. The U.S. should just stop trying to make it hotter. Please sign and share our petition calling on President Biden to normalize relations and end the blockade on Cuba.