“Our own government is committing genocide on Cuba–Ohioans should care”

As a candidate for U.S. Senate, I recently traveled to Cuba to help deliver 30 tons of critical medical aid to the Cuban people. What I witnessed on the ground shook me to my core. It should shake Ohioans too.

Cuba has achieved one of the highest doctor-to-patient ratios in the world, a universal healthcare system, free education from cradle to grave, and other social programs benefiting working people. Yet, for 64 years, the U.S. blockade has systematically prevented the island from securing its most basic needs. The crisis has reached a breaking point since the U.S. cut off oil exports from Venezuela, following the illegal kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro in January, which has severely limited the island’s access to fuel for its power grid.

Since 1959, the U.S. government has painted Cuba as a boogeyman and sought to inflict maximum damage. Why? Because Cuba is building a socialist system, which our ruling class views as a challenge to its own power. In response, Washington has accused the island of everything from exporting terrorism to serving as the citadel of 21st-century communism. These are smokescreens for a policy of economic strangulation.

For over six decades, both elected Democrats and Republicans have supported the US blockade. My 2026 election opponents, Jon Husted and  Sherrod Brown, are united in their support for harsh economic measures against the Cuban people.

Trump’s recent actions against the island have deliberately exacerbated the suffering and made daily life on the island a nightmare. During my trip, Cuban reporter and translator Edelso Moret told me: “Cuban babies are dying in hospitals when blackouts hit, as their respirators lose power. Doctors, who have no power at home themselves, are left trying to massage the babies’ chests to keep their hearts beating.”

I felt the effects of this man-made crisis firsthand. Power was on for only an hour a day. There was no air-conditioning in 105-degree heat. Garbage piled up because trucks lacked fuel. Food spoiled without refrigeration. Mosquito-borne diseases are spreading because there is no fuel to consistently spray. These blackouts, imposed directly by the U.S. blockade, are killing babies.

We must demand that our government stop the terror abroad and address the crises facing millions of working class Americans. Our government pours money into cruel, costly measures against Global South countries, all the while Ohioans suffer from deindustrialization, social service cuts, and private equity plunder. We are living through a mental health epidemic worse than most states. Police violence claims lives in our streets. Working families can barely afford rent or groceries. These social evils are all the result of a system which prioritizes corporate profit over human dignity.

Instead of strangling a small island nation, we could be learning from it. Despite the hardships imposed by the U.S. blockade, Cuba demonstrates the importance of public healthcare, housing, and education for all. These are popular programs we need in Ohio.

My campaign calls for an end to the blockade and the lifting of all sanctions on Cuba. Just as we took to the streets against the genocide in Gaza, it is up to working people to build a movement in solidarity with Cubans in the streets too.

Ohioans do not support this silent genocide. We want peace, dignity, and liberation, for ourselves and for our neighbors. As your next U.S. Senator, I will fight to end this blockade, redirect our resources toward human needs, and build a foreign policy rooted in cooperation, not cruelty.

Greg Levy is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio. Learn more about his campaign at https://www.greg4senate.com/.