Rep. Jim McGovern says U.S. has been "strangling the island of Cuba for over six decades"

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts has introduced a bill to repeal the U.S. embargo on Cuba, framing the decades-long trade restrictions as economically damaging to the island nation. His comments come as Cuba restores power following a total blackout that struck the island earlier this week. McGovern, a Democrat, is using the humanitarian crisis to argue that the Trump administration should reconsider its approach to Cuba policy. The congressman's push reflects ongoing tension between those who view the embargo as a Cold War relic that harms ordinary Cubans and those who argue it remains necessary leverage against the Cuban government. The timing underscores how domestic crises on the island can reignite debate over U.S. trade policy toward Havana.