EU envoy says US sanctions in Cuba worsening human rights situation

A special European Union envoy said on Friday that U.S. sanctions are worsening the human rights situation in Cuba while reiterating the EU’s call on the communist-run government to release prisoners detained during mass protests in July of 2021.
EU human rights envoy Eamon Gilmore said bilateral talks with top officials in Havana over two days had broached social and economic rights, but also, civil and political rights such as freedom of expression and the right to assembly, or protest.
Gilmore told reporters the U.S. sanctions on Cuba, which sharply curtail financial transactions, tourism and trade, had clear impacts on Cuba’s economy and society.