US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, is promoting a bill that seeks to impose sanctions on individuals or entities assisting Cuba in the development of its oil industry.
This claim was made during the Round Table Cuban radio and television program on Tuesday, when panelists said that, with the pretext of protecting the coral reefs of the Caribbean, the US legislator is trying to block the drilling of oil wells in the area and the Cuban socio-economic development in general.
The bill (HR 2047) is called the Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Act and it would deny US entry visas to any foreign officer, principal or controlling shareholder of a company that invests $1 million in Cuba’s oil industry.
The sanction would apply to any investments made on or after January 10, 2005. It would also direct the president of the United States to impose sanctions on people who invest in Cuba’s petroleum sector, and make it illegal for any US national to help Cuba develop its offshore oil resources.
Cuba’s area in the Gulf of Mexico is divided in 59 blocks. Several of them have been contracted for exploration by companies such as Repsol, PDVSA, and PetroVietnam.
