Dear John,

Florida politicians like Rep. María Elvira Salazar and Rep. Carlos Giménez claim to care about the Cuban people, yet their policies are cutting off fuel, blocking humanitarian aid, and denying patients the pacemakers they need to stay alive.

You wouldn’t know it from reading the Miami Herald or El Nuevo Herald. These outlets continue to give Cuban-American politicians a platform while ignoring the devastating impact of U.S. sanctions on everyday Cubans. Hospitals without power. Children without antibiotics. Families left waiting for basic care because U.S. laws make it nearly impossible to send aid. Tell Florida media: Stop ignoring the truth about Cuba!

That’s why we’re launching a public teach-in letter to Florida newspapers, demanding they report the truth. If they insist on quoting politicians like Salazar, they must also cover the real consequences of the policies she promotes.

Here’s what they’re not telling you:

• Sanctions hurt people, not the government. They block food, medicine, fuel, and spare parts, costing Cuba over $5 billion in one year.
  
  
• The “State Sponsor of Terrorism” label is economic warfare, cutting Cuba off from global banking and blocking aid.
  
  
• Remittances and travel are lifelines. Making it difficult to send remittances to family members back home cuts essential income to over 1.5 million Cuban families and destroys small businesses.
  
  
• So-called “democracy programs” are U.S.-funded regime-change efforts, not serious efforts to promote democracy or civil society. .
  
  
• Engagement works. The Obama-era thaw improved lives. Sanctions only deepen the crisis.
  
  
• The blockade is a women’s issue. Cuban women bear the brunt of scarcity caused by restrictions on food, medicine, and essential goods.
  
  
• The world rejects this policy. In 2024, the UN voted 187–2 against the embargo.
  
  
• The FORCE Act would lock in permanent suffering, banning aid, travel, remittances, and trade.

It’s time to stop serving violence and start reporting its consequences. Cuba doesn’t need more sanctions. It needs truth. It needs solidarity. You’ve amplified the voices calling for economic strangulation. You’ve ignored the mothers, the doctors, the families paying the price.

This is a policy that kills, and coverage that enables it. We’re not waiting for the media to catch up. We’re telling the truth now. Add your name and send the letter to Florida editors now: Tell the media to report the truth about Cuba

In radical solidarity,
Medea, Michelle, Teri and the entire CODEPINK team

P.S. Want to do more than call out the lies? Help us save lives. While the U.S. blocks medical supplies from reaching Cuba, we’re sending pacemakers directly to Cuban hospitals through a partnership with Global Health Partners. If you believe in real solidarity and not sanctions, chip in here. Every dollar helps restore a heartbeat.