Cuba wins UN vote against US embargo with weakest backing in 30 years
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Members of Cuba's permanent mission at UN Headquarters in New York, on Oct 28.
PHOTO: EPA
- The UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for an end to the US embargo on Cuba, with 130 votes for, 17 against and 25 abstentions.
- Support for Cuba was the weakest in 30 years, as US pressure, sanctions and an oil blockade added to the island’s economic crisis.
- The vote followed a heated UN row, with Cuban and US officials trading insults and accusing each other of lies, coercion and corruption.
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NEW YORK - The UN General Assembly on Oct 28 adopted a new resolution calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba, although support for the communist-ruled island fell to its lowest level in three decades.
Nearly every year since 1992 similar resolutions have been put to a vote and passed, but support for the measure in 2026 was markedly lower.
The resolution, which has called for lifting the economic, trade and financial embargo against the island, received 130 votes in favour, with 17 against and 25 abstentions.
It was the lowest level of support since 1995.
The debate for 2026, however, is taking place amid a major new pressure campaign by Washington against Cuba, including an oil blockade and broad sanctions that have severely crippled Cuba’s economy.
In recent weeks, Havana accused Washington of mounting a diplomatic offensive to pressure countries into withdrawing their support for the Cuban resolution.
“The world has once again spoken out overwhelmingly against the blockade, even despite the most blatant pressure and blackmail from the US to change the course of this vote,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a celebratory post on X on Oct 28, later adding that the US engages in “gangster-like coercion.”
Speaking in New York, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused Washington of seeking to “determine the nation’s destiny” and “seize” its wealth.
In the minutes before the vote, US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz denied that Cuba was under a blockade and said “the plight of the Cuban people is exclusively the fault of this corrupt communist regime.”
“The reality is, today as we speak, there is no ring of US Navy warships around Cuba. Their ports are open. In recent months, data shows that shipments have arrived,” from around the world, he added.
The vote came a day after a dramatic shouting match on the floor of the UN General Assembly that at one point saw Rodriguez approach Waltz and shout, “You are a liar!” as Waltz shouted for him to back away.
Amid the interruptions, the chair briefly suspended the session and instructed both countries’ representatives to return to their places.
In his speech arguing against the resolution on Oct 27, Waltz held up pictures of Cuban leaders past and present, including Diaz-Canel, wearing luxury watches, prompting the Cuban delegation to repeatedly smack their desk in protest and interrupt.
Waltz later held up a satellite images and detailed luxury estates, boats and holidays that he claimed the Castro family and Cuban officials enjoy.
“The regime can never find enough fuel for Cuban ambulances. They can never find enough fuel for Cuban buses. But when the Castro family, the elites that are sitting at that table, want to go yachting, suddenly, it’s no problem.” Waltz said.
Speaking on Fox News on Oct 28 after the vote, Waltz said that the previous day’s debate, “got a little spicy.” AFP