>__US Embargo Against Cuba – Trump’s Long Arm Reaches Postfinance__
>Sandra S. can’t believe her eyes. She did not expect this. In her hands, she holds a letter from Postfinance: “We are compelled to terminate our business relationship with you and close the associated accounts and services,” the letter reads. Sandra is informed that she has two weeks to find a new bank. When she tries to withdraw money from her account, it’s already no longer possible. Finding a new bank from abroad within such a short time is impossible for her.
>Sandra S. is surprised by the termination. She has been a regular customer for many years, lives in Cuba, and pays higher banking fees as a Swiss citizen living abroad. She is now left wondering how she will continue to receive her AHV pension payments.
>__Not an Isolated Case__
>An investigation by SRF reveals that Sandra S. is not alone. On the contrary, Postfinance is currently systematically terminating customers with any connection to Cuba. The short notice periods raise questions. Either internal controls triggered an alert, or U.S. authorities applied direct pressure on the federally controlled bank. Postfinance remains tight-lipped when asked and provides no comment. Their reaction suggests one thing: fear of Donald Trump has reached the headquarters in Bern.
>__Cuba as a Pawn in U.S. Politics__
>The background behind these abrupt terminations lies in the renewed tightening of U.S. economic sanctions. It has been a back-and-forth situation. In 2016, then U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new era – a historic shift, as it was called. After decades, the U.S. eased the embargo.
>The joy was short-lived. In 2019, Donald Trump tightened the screws again, placed Cuba on the list of terrorist states, and threatened foreign companies and banks doing business with Cuba. Joe Biden, in turn, relaxed the measures at the beginning of the year – but this decision was promptly reversed by Donald Trump. It’s a policy marked by arbitrariness.
>__Swiss Banks Respond__
>Major Swiss banks halted financial transactions with Cuba years ago due to pressure from the U.S. Postfinance remained the only major institution continuing such transactions – until 2019. That’s when Postfinance also ceased relations with Cuba, sparking criticism. Filippo Lombardi, former Council of States member from the Centre party in Ticino, argued in a parliamentary inquiry that Postfinance had a federal mandate to ensure basic payment services, even for retirees abroad.
>The Federal Council responded that this obligation only applies to domestic transactions. While Postfinance, as a Swiss financial institution, is not directly subject to U.S. law, the American sanctions still apply when payments are made in U.S. dollars or processed via a bank located in U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, Postfinance cannot be obligated to process international payments.
>Today, Postfinance refers to the same arguments. The bank depends on a network of correspondent banks and access to the dollar payment system. However, the question of why the account closures are happening so abruptly remains unanswered.
The trick will be to keep a Swiss billing address with a friend or relative. But yeah, that sucks.
Meanwhile Switzerland was placed on the list of countries with “unfair trade practices” and restricted access to AI chips. Obviously they need to lick Trump’s ass more to get on his good side. Despicable really how (some)countries bow before this idiotic administration
Swiss banks are pathetic spineless maggots. Fuck them all!
But on a serious note, we really need to get away from the Dollar hegemony and US-based institutions like the IWF
We are going to be seeing A LOT more of this.
We need to ask ourselves (since Americans won’t) why we are here and where do we go from here.
I want to be very clear : everything trump is doing blatantly and incompetently, democrats and liberals have been doing the exact same thing for decades, just more competently and by massaging the esthetics.
A corporate oligarchy? It has been the case for decades, even more than a half of a century since the end of WW2.
Attacks on free speech? It has been the case for decades as well (Edward Snowden, anti-war veterans being arrested for protesting, mosques and Muslim groups being targeted post 9/11)
Cruel and unusual deportations? Ask Obama and Biden about that shit.
Warmongering? I mean, do I even need to detail this one? It’s obviously always been uni party.
All this to issue a warning : this is what happens when the politicians on the “left” give up economic leftism for fake esthetic progressivism (oh we want capitalism just as much as the right! We just want to give the opportunity to gay people to be heartless CEO’s as well 🏳️🌈 Arabs are terrorists 🏳️⚧️ and hate women that’s why we droned Afghanistan for over 20 years #metoo). When thus happens, they are basically setting the stage for the right to creep more towards authoritarianism.
And as the socialists correctly call out “fascists!”, the liberal left will side with the fascists till the very very end, saying “he’s not that bad” and “we need to focus on unison and reaching across the aisle”.
This happened in Germany as well. We need to see liberalism for what it is, a gateway ideology that primes the environment for a fascist takeover. They are not our allies. We do not have time for people telling us it’s normal we pay such high prime d’assurance maladie and that there is no other way that works just look at how bad it is elsewhere! We do not have time for people who don’t understand why people are mad about UBS, for people who don’t immediately tell you we should’ve nationalized then when we bailed them out. We don’t have time for people telling us immigrants are the reason our life is shit, thats why rent is half or more of your salary and you will never own a home! It’s definitely not the unimaginable amount of greed we let happen on a day to day basis.
Please Switzerland, let’s avoid going down this path. Protest, stand up for the marginalized people in our communities, fight corporate greed, and fight liberal complacency.
6 comments
Translation:
>__US Embargo Against Cuba – Trump’s Long Arm Reaches Postfinance__
>Sandra S. can’t believe her eyes. She did not expect this. In her hands, she holds a letter from Postfinance: “We are compelled to terminate our business relationship with you and close the associated accounts and services,” the letter reads. Sandra is informed that she has two weeks to find a new bank. When she tries to withdraw money from her account, it’s already no longer possible. Finding a new bank from abroad within such a short time is impossible for her.
>Sandra S. is surprised by the termination. She has been a regular customer for many years, lives in Cuba, and pays higher banking fees as a Swiss citizen living abroad. She is now left wondering how she will continue to receive her AHV pension payments.
>__Not an Isolated Case__
>An investigation by SRF reveals that Sandra S. is not alone. On the contrary, Postfinance is currently systematically terminating customers with any connection to Cuba. The short notice periods raise questions. Either internal controls triggered an alert, or U.S. authorities applied direct pressure on the federally controlled bank. Postfinance remains tight-lipped when asked and provides no comment. Their reaction suggests one thing: fear of Donald Trump has reached the headquarters in Bern.
>__Cuba as a Pawn in U.S. Politics__
>The background behind these abrupt terminations lies in the renewed tightening of U.S. economic sanctions. It has been a back-and-forth situation. In 2016, then U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new era – a historic shift, as it was called. After decades, the U.S. eased the embargo.
>The joy was short-lived. In 2019, Donald Trump tightened the screws again, placed Cuba on the list of terrorist states, and threatened foreign companies and banks doing business with Cuba. Joe Biden, in turn, relaxed the measures at the beginning of the year – but this decision was promptly reversed by Donald Trump. It’s a policy marked by arbitrariness.
>__Swiss Banks Respond__
>Major Swiss banks halted financial transactions with Cuba years ago due to pressure from the U.S. Postfinance remained the only major institution continuing such transactions – until 2019. That’s when Postfinance also ceased relations with Cuba, sparking criticism. Filippo Lombardi, former Council of States member from the Centre party in Ticino, argued in a parliamentary inquiry that Postfinance had a federal mandate to ensure basic payment services, even for retirees abroad.
>The Federal Council responded that this obligation only applies to domestic transactions. While Postfinance, as a Swiss financial institution, is not directly subject to U.S. law, the American sanctions still apply when payments are made in U.S. dollars or processed via a bank located in U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, Postfinance cannot be obligated to process international payments.
>Today, Postfinance refers to the same arguments. The bank depends on a network of correspondent banks and access to the dollar payment system. However, the question of why the account closures are happening so abruptly remains unanswered.
The trick will be to keep a Swiss billing address with a friend or relative. But yeah, that sucks.
Meanwhile Switzerland was placed on the list of countries with “unfair trade practices” and restricted access to AI chips. Obviously they need to lick Trump’s ass more to get on his good side. Despicable really how (some)countries bow before this idiotic administration
Swiss banks are pathetic spineless maggots. Fuck them all!
But on a serious note, we really need to get away from the Dollar hegemony and US-based institutions like the IWF
We are going to be seeing A LOT more of this.
We need to ask ourselves (since Americans won’t) why we are here and where do we go from here.
I want to be very clear : everything trump is doing blatantly and incompetently, democrats and liberals have been doing the exact same thing for decades, just more competently and by massaging the esthetics.
A corporate oligarchy? It has been the case for decades, even more than a half of a century since the end of WW2.
Attacks on free speech? It has been the case for decades as well (Edward Snowden, anti-war veterans being arrested for protesting, mosques and Muslim groups being targeted post 9/11)
Cruel and unusual deportations? Ask Obama and Biden about that shit.
Warmongering? I mean, do I even need to detail this one? It’s obviously always been uni party.
All this to issue a warning : this is what happens when the politicians on the “left” give up economic leftism for fake esthetic progressivism (oh we want capitalism just as much as the right! We just want to give the opportunity to gay people to be heartless CEO’s as well 🏳️🌈 Arabs are terrorists 🏳️⚧️ and hate women that’s why we droned Afghanistan for over 20 years #metoo). When thus happens, they are basically setting the stage for the right to creep more towards authoritarianism.
And as the socialists correctly call out “fascists!”, the liberal left will side with the fascists till the very very end, saying “he’s not that bad” and “we need to focus on unison and reaching across the aisle”.
This happened in Germany as well. We need to see liberalism for what it is, a gateway ideology that primes the environment for a fascist takeover. They are not our allies. We do not have time for people telling us it’s normal we pay such high prime d’assurance maladie and that there is no other way that works just look at how bad it is elsewhere! We do not have time for people who don’t understand why people are mad about UBS, for people who don’t immediately tell you we should’ve nationalized then when we bailed them out. We don’t have time for people telling us immigrants are the reason our life is shit, thats why rent is half or more of your salary and you will never own a home! It’s definitely not the unimaginable amount of greed we let happen on a day to day basis.
Please Switzerland, let’s avoid going down this path. Protest, stand up for the marginalized people in our communities, fight corporate greed, and fight liberal complacency.
Unfortunately, it may be time for the Swiss abroad to look for a [safe haven](https://almatar.com/blog/bank-account-opening-process-for-foreigners-in-russia/) for their AHV.
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