The United Nations General Assembly once again urged the United States to end its long-standing economic embargo on Cuba, with an overwhelming majority of member states supporting the resolution in a vote held on Tuesday. However, a concerted lobbying effort by the US resulted in an increase in opposing and abstaining countries compared to previous years.
The resolution garnered support from 130 countries, while 17—including the United States and Israel—voted against it. An additional 25 nations abstained from the vote, marking a noticeable shift from last year's results when 165 countries voted in favor, only seven opposed, and 12 abstained. Notably, several Western countries, such as Germany and Italy, chose to abstain for the first time in many years, reflecting changing diplomatic dynamics surrounding the embargo.
The US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, expressed satisfaction with the evolving positions, highlighting that major economies such as South Korea and Germany have shifted their stance. “Diplomacy takes time, but now we know that we’ve had a tripling of countries that have shifted, we expect that to only continue to grow,” he said after the vote.
Despite the General Assembly’s overwhelming support for the resolution, the trade embargo remains firmly in place, as only the US Congress holds the authority to lift the decades-old sanctions. The embargo, first imposed during the Cold War, has been a recurring subject of condemnation at the UN for more than thirty years, with annual votes consistently favoring its end—except for 2020, when the pandemic disrupted the usual proceedings.
The days leading up to the vote saw heightened tensions between Cuban and American representatives, including confrontations both in the assembly hall and in UN corridors. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez condemned the US position, describing it as an attempt to "strangle the Cuban people" and labeling the embargo an act of "collective punishment and genocide." He dismissed US pressure and rhetoric as ineffective against the “force of facts and truth.”
The embargo has been a central issue in US-Cuba relations, with Cuba attributing its severe economic crisis to the sanctions. The island is currently facing its worst downturn in decades, characterized by scarce basic goods, deteriorating infrastructure, and soaring inflation. The crisis was exacerbated last month when Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse, leaving millions without power.
Under former President Barack Obama, the US abstained from voting on the resolution in 2016 amid attempts to normalize relations with Havana. However, the Trump administration reversed this trend, voting against the resolution and intensifying pressure on Cuba, including through covert operations and military actions aimed at Venezuela’s government.
Most recently, President Donald Trump described Cuba at the UN as a failed state, asserting that freedom would soon come to the nation. Despite these statements and continued US opposition, the international community’s majority continues to support ending the longstanding embargo.