CARAVAN TO CUBA SUCCESSFULLY BREAKS THE BLOCKADE AND CROSSES US-MEXICO BORDER WITH 100 TONS OF HUMANITARIAN AID!
MEDIA ADVISORY
July 21st, 2011
Media Contact: Lucia Bruno (212) 926-5757 or (347) 423-4330
CARAVAN TO CUBA SUCCESSFULLY BREAKS THE BLOCKADE AND CROSSES US-MEXICO BORDER WITH 100 TONS OF HUMANITARIAN AID!
PROTEST CONTINUES TO DEMAND US CUSTOMS RETURN SEVEN SEIZED COMPUTERS
In the evening of July 20th 2011, the 22nd Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba successfully broke the US blockade on Cuba and crossed the US/Mexico border, and is now continuing to transport the aid through Mexico and on to Cuba. The 100 tons of aid includes medications and medical supplies, computers, portable solar panels, school supplies, construction tools and equipment and much more.
When crossing the US side of the border, US Customs officers were met with a protest from the caravan participants when they seized seven computers. The computers were to be donated to Cuban hospitals, schools, and a veterinary clinic. The Customs officers explained that they were ‘detaining,’ not ‘seizing’ the computers, in order to determine whether the caravan needed to have a license to take them to Cuba.
With the support of Mexican Cuba solidarity organizations and friends of Pastors for Peace in Mexico, the caravan passed through Mexican customs and immigration. Caravan participants along with Mexican solidarity activists staged a spirited protest at Mexican immigration offices to assure that the passage of the caravanistas would not be delayed due to red tape.
While the protest demanding the immediate return of the seven computers, and an end to the criminal and inhumane blockade of Cuba continues, the caravan is continuing on to deliver the remaining 100 tons of precious aid to Cuba.
“Our struggle is not over and will continue until this immoral, cruel and counterproductive blockade is ended,” stated IFCO acting co-director Rev. Thomas E. Smith. The next challenge comes on August 1st 2011, when the caravan crosses back into the US, openly declaring that they have traveled to Cuba without a license from the US government.
The Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), which has been working for racial, social, and economic justice since 1967.
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For more about events and route stops, updates and photos from the road
see our see our blog: http://ifconews.org/Blog-22ndCaravan
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