Lee, who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1998, spoke at a solidarity event, where she recalled her tireless efforts to improve relations between the two countries and to lift the blockade against Cuba.

The former representative, who served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2009 to 2011, welcomed Cuban diplomats Yasser Ibarra and David Ramírez, who participated in the Let Cuba Live tour, which was attended by more than 100 persons from unions and community organizations.

The Richmond City Council approved a proclamation on Wednesday urging the current administration to remove Cuba from the arbitrary list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism and lift all economic sanctions.

The resolution was issued at a solemn session of the Council and signed by Mayor Eduardo Martínez, who highlighted how, over the past 64 years, the consequences of the embargo “continue to inflict daily hardship and deprivation on the Cuban people, generating shortages of basic goods such as food and medicine, and severely restricting international financial and trade opportunities.”

In recent years, many initiatives to end the embargo have been promoted and approved by city councils, state legislatures, and unions representing millions of people in the United States. Similar proposals have also been made in the cities of Sacramento and San Francisco.

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