The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to demand an end to the decades-long US economic embargo on Cuba, with 165 nations voting in favour, seven against and 12 abstaining. The United States, Israel, Ukraine, Hungary, Paraguay, Argentina and North Macedonia voted against the resolution.
The vote followed a heated debate on Tuesday between US Ambassador Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez over the embargo, as Washington intensified its campaign against Cuba’s government, including an oil blockade and pressure on member states to oppose the resolution. Cuba’s foreign minister told the Assembly that Cuba would not surrender and would continue working to overcome its difficulties despite the blockade.
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they reflect world opinion, and the embargo has been condemned in similar votes almost every year since 1992. Cuba is facing a deepening financial crisis, with fuel, electricity and essential supplies under strain, and the margin of this year’s vote will be read as a measure of how far US lobbying shifted opinion.
Sources: Associated Press, Sun (TRT). Written in our own words for information only.