The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly last fall – for the 20th year in a row – for a
resolution declaring the U.S. embargo against Cuba illegal under international law and called
on Washington to immediately reverse this policy. As Congress defies this strong international
consensus against the embargo, Washington’s hostility to Cuba is growing, set to reach a fever
pitch as the 2012 presidential campaign shifts into high gear. Both candidates for the White
House are pandering to the most extreme elements in Miami, in hope of winning Florida’s
prized, often pivotal electoral votes.

It’s no secret that our government’s use of a trade embargo to effect regime change in Cuba is
one of our nation’s greatest foreign policy failures. The embargo has been in place for more
than 50 years. President Obama is now the 11th U.S. President in office since it began. Yet,
Washington still pursues a policy that brings hardship to millions of Cuban citizens.

The President has refused to ease restrictions on humanitarian assistance programs like
Disarm’s, denying U.S. doctors permission to travel to Cuba to teach, lecture or perform
surgery. Our medical delegations – now barred – enabled American doctors to share skills with
their Cuban counterparts and teach new, advanced techniques such as sophisticated breast
reconstruction for women with cancer.