Cuba reporter says country ‘can’t do business’ internationally due to US sanctions

Reed Lindsay, director of the U.S.-Cuba centered news outlet Belly of the Beast, on Wednesday said the protests on the island nation should force people to consider how U.S. sanctions have limited the country’s ability to “do business” with companies across the world.

In an interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Lindsay responded to recent comments from White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in which she denied claims that the U.S. has blocked humanitarian aid to Cuba.

Lindsay said Psaki’s response “begs the question: Why does Cuba need humanitarian supplies at all?”

“It’s because it’s in the midst of a devastating economic crisis brought about in large part by U.S. sanctions,” Lindsay said, noting that various restrictions have limited the ability of Cuba to import ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the country to develop its own technology.

“It’s not so much the question of humanitarian aid, it’s the fact that Cuba just can’t do business, not only with the United States, but with other companies across the world because of the U.S. sanctions,” Lindsay added. 

Watch part of Lindsay’s interview above.