In an interview with the weekly publication *Voz*, he explained, for instance, that the infant mortality rate had once reached four per thousand live births; however, the harm caused by Washington’s embargo has led to a deterioration of this indicator, which now stands at nine per thousand.

He stated that the blockade affects daily life in its most essential aspects, including food, medicine, transportation, healthcare, and education.

“At this moment, we have more than 7,000 containers—most of them held up in the Caribbean—that cannot move forward due to pressure exerted by the United States on shipping companies,” the diplomat emphasized.

He noted that, in Colombia alone, there are three containers holding a medication called sodium valproate, which is used to prevent seizures in children.

De Cespedes rejected the pretext used by the Donald Trump administration to intensify its attacks against the island: labeling it a “failed state.”

In this regard, he questioned how many governments could survive for 67 years under a blockade that inflicts such deprivation upon the population, compounded by “secondary sanctions against companies, business owners, and banks—all of which place a significant burden on the nation’s finances.”

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