In a conference, “Building Our Future,” scientists at the Cuban Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) stated that the blockade hurts the people of the United States. By lifting the sanctions against Cuba, people of the UScould have access to life-saving treatments being developed in Cuba, especially against diseases such as diabetes, which ravage working-class communities each year… “If you go into low-income African American neighborhoods, it is a war zone… You see people wheeling themselves around in wheelchairs,” Dr. Dean Schillinger, told KHN. According to the KHN article, “Amputations are considered a ‘mega-disparity’ and dwarf nearly every other health disparity by race and ethnicity.” “[P]atients with diabetes-related amputations have a high risk of mortality, with a five-year survival rate of 40–48 percent regardless of the etiology of the amputation.” Heberprot-P could help tens of thousands of patients avoid such amputations, however, due to the blockade, U.S. patients cannot access this treatment. People in the U.S. have a vested interest in dismantling the U.S. blockade of Cuba… Arzola explained how it is virtually impossible to purchase top-of-the-line equipment due to trade restrictions. “I cannot buy these machines even if I have the money, because I would not be able to fix them. You cannot spend a quarter-million dollars every six months [buying a new machine]… even though you know that this [machine] is the best for your patients.”