UN Vote to End Cuba Embargo Hits 30-Year Low as Support Drops to 130
New York – The United Nations General Assembly voted on Tuesday to call for an end to the United States embargo on Cuba, but support for the annual resolution fell to its lowest level in more than three decades. The measure passed with 130 countries voting in favour, 17 against, and 25 abstentions. This result marks a significant decline from last year, when more than 160 nations backed the proposal, and represents the lowest level of support recorded since 1995.
Notable shifts in voting patterns included Germany, Italy, and Latvia, which abstained for the first time in 34 years. Several other nations, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Morocco, Slovenia, and Bosnia, voted against the resolution, many doing so for the first time. While the resolution is not legally binding, it is widely regarded as a reflection of international opinion regarding the economic, trade, and financial restrictions imposed on the island nation.
The US embargo dates back to 1960, following Fidel Castro’s revolution and the nationalization of US-owned property. Tensions between Washington and Havana have recently escalated, with the US implementing renewed pressure campaigns that include restrictions on oil supplies and broad sanctions. These measures have severely damaged Cuba’s economy, leading to widespread shortages of fuel and essentials, frequent power cuts, and disruptions to water, internet, and telephone services.
Just minutes before the vote, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz denied that Cuba was under a blockade. He stated that "the plight of the Cuban people is exclusively the fault of this corrupt communist regime." During the session, Waltz accused senior Cuban officials of enjoying luxury lifestyles while ordinary citizens faced hardships. He held up images of Cuban leaders, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel, wearing luxury watches, which prompted members of the Cuban delegation to bang on their desks in protest.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez engaged in a heated confrontation with Waltz, approaching the US ambassador and accusing him of lying. Rodríguez also accused Washington of mounting a diplomatic offensive to pressure countries into withdrawing their support for the resolution, claiming the US sought to "determine the nation's destiny" and "seize" its wealth. In response to the vote and the surrounding diplomatic pressure, President Díaz-Canel wrote on the social media platform X that the US was engaging in "gangster-like coercion." He asserted that the world had spoken out overwhelmingly against the blockade despite what he described as blatant pressure and blackmail from the US to change the course of the vote.
This report was produced in the Europe Brief News newsroom.
