The letter criticizes the indifference and silence surrounding the health problems caused by the US blockade against the island.

The text of the letter, which has been circulating in Italy since mid-May and was also published by La Repubblica newspaper in the last few hours, points out that the Caribbean nation “is an example of scientific excellence,” but its health system currently faces serious limitations due to an aggressive US policy.

Italian MEP Ilaria Salis recently endorsed, in a message posted on social media, this “important solidarity initiative with Cuba that deserves the utmost support,” which is being spearheaded by doctors from this European nation, whom she described as “humane, visionary, and committed.”

The document, entitled “Italy owes a debt to Cuba,” remembers the solidarity by Cuban doctors to Italy during the Covid-19 pandemic and their current work in the southern region of Calabria, where they are ensuring the functioning of the local healthcare system.

Cuba is the nation with the highest physician density globally, with 8.4 doctors per 1,000 population, and “since 1963, more than 600,000 Cuban healthcare professionals have provided services in more than 160 countries, including Italy,” adds this open letter addressed to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Health Minister Orazio Schillaci.

The signatories point out that the economic, commercial, and financial blockade, tightened by US President Donald Trump, which includes actions against energy supplies, “deprives the island of fuel, electricity, and access to international markets for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.”

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