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March 11, 2020

The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo

Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20520

SUBJECT: Cuba; COVlD-19 Preparedness

Dear Secretary Pompeo,

As the Trump administration continues to re-orient U.S. Latin American policy

by putting U.S. national interests first, and given the Wuhan Virus pandemic, I am
writing to urge the administration to consider reassessing travel warnings and protocols
for travel to and from Cuba.

There appear to be many unknowns about the Coronavirus/COVID-19 or Wuhan

Virus pandemic originating in Wuhan, China, and Cuba, as is well-documented, has
notable ties to both China and Iran: the former, the epicenter of the outbreak, and the
latter, a focus of contagion which is also a partner with the Havana government in
dual-use biotechnology research and development.

The Cuban regime has by its actions demonstrated it cannot be trusted. During
the past three years, certain Cuban officials have gone out of their way to harm U.S.
citizens and interests. For example, Cuba has yet to account for a series of unexplained
incidents that appear to have started toward the end of the Obama administration
resulting in permanent injuries to American diplomats posted in Havana and their
family members. This, as you are aware, prompted an updated warning from the
Department for travel to the island.

As do the Communist Chinese and terrorist Iranian regimes. Communist Cuba

has a long track record of hiding official health data to manipulate public perceptions
about the Cuban healthcare "miracle." For example, after decades of allegedly no cases
of cholera on the island, in 2013, Reuters reported Cuba was still "battling cholera a
year after first cases reported." Then in early 2016, the World Health Organization
(WHO) announced a rare Public Health Emergency of International Concern over the
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Zika virus outbreak in the Western Hemisphere.^ Cuba failed to cooperate with
international organizations on this matter and complete data on the Zika outbreak in
Cuba never materialized. According to one study, close to 6,000 cases from Cuba were
never reported.

During the summer of 2019, there was an unexplained dengue outbreak that
Communist Cuba also tried to cover up, and other examples of Communist Cuba's lack
of transparency in this space. In addition, concerns remain about Cuba's airport and
travel security infrastructure. These issues important to U.S. national security and
homeland defense are even more relevant when seeking to protect the American people
and to contain a public health emergency.

The administration has taken steps to curb money flows to Cuba for several
malign activities by, among other measures, limiting remittances and curbing certain
forms of travel. Because of the Wuhan Virus pandemic, the Trump administration
should also consider, based on the aforementioned and other actions by the Havana
regime which threaten U.S. citizens and interests, implementing a complete travel ban
on all visitors to the United States who live or have visited Cuba during the past few
months.

Sincerely,

JlP/cds

' "Travel Surveillance and Genomics Uncover a Hidden Zika Outbreak during the Waning Epidemic,"
Cell. Vol. 178, Iss. 5, P1057-1071.E11 (Aug. 22, 2019).

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