Support for UN vote to end US embargo on Cuba falls to 30-year low

UN Support for Ending Cuba Embargo Drops Sharply

Usagevpn.com – The United Nations General Assembly has once more urged the United States to end its embargo on Cuba, although the annual resolution received its weakest backing in more than three decades.

A total of 130 countries supported the measure, while 17 voted against it and 25 abstained. The result marked the lowest level of support since 1995 for a resolution that Cuba has brought before the General Assembly almost every year since 1992. More than 160 countries endorsed the proposal in the previous year’s vote.

Although the resolution does not carry legal force, its outcome is closely watched as an indication of global diplomatic sentiment on the long-running dispute between Washington and Havana. The text calls for an end to the economic, financial and trade restrictions imposed by the United States on the Caribbean island.

Changes in European and regional voting patterns

The lower total reflected significant movement among countries that had previously backed the resolution or avoided opposing it. Germany, Italy and Latvia chose to abstain, their first abstentions in 34 years on the issue.

Several other countries cast votes against the measure, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Morocco, Slovenia and Bosnia. For many of them, it was the first time they had opposed the annual resolution.

The changing pattern did not alter the resolution’s approval, but it highlighted a more divided international response than in recent years. For Cuba, the result still represented a large majority in favour of ending the embargo; for Washington, the fall in support underscored the effect of its renewed diplomatic pressure campaign.

Washington and Havana trade accusations

The vote took place amid particularly strained relations between the United States and Cuba. Washington has intensified pressure through broad sanctions and restrictions affecting oil supplies, measures that have added to the island’s deep economic difficulties.

Just before delegates voted in New York, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz rejected the description of US policy as a blockade. He placed responsibility for Cuba’s hardship on its leadership.

“The plight of the Cuban people is exclusively the fault of this corrupt communist regime.”

Cuban authorities have argued that the United States mounted a diplomatic effort aimed at persuading governments to abandon their usual support for the resolution. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused Washington of trying to shape Cuba’s future and take control of its resources.

Washington was seeking to “determine the nation’s destiny” and “seize” its wealth, Rodríguez said.

Tensions between the two delegations were visible inside the UN chamber. Rodríguez confronted Waltz and accused him of lying, while the US ambassador told him to step back. The exchange reflected the acrimony surrounding an issue that has dominated US-Cuba relations for generations.

Debate over Cuba’s economic crisis

During the General Assembly session, Waltz accused senior Cuban officials of living comfortably while ordinary people endured severe shortages. He displayed photographs of current and former Cuban leaders, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel, wearing luxury watches. Members of the Cuban delegation repeatedly banged their desks in protest.

Díaz-Canel later condemned the US approach in a post on X, describing it as coercive and accusing Washington of attempting to influence the vote through intimidation.

“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,” Díaz-Canel wrote.

Cuba’s economic situation remains severe. The country has faced shortages of fuel and other basic goods, recurring blackouts and interruptions to water, internet and telephone services. These problems have become increasingly visible in daily life, with energy constraints affecting households and public services alike.

In January, President Trump threatened tariffs against countries that supplied oil to Cuba. The move sharply reduced fuel deliveries to the island and contributed to widespread power cuts, as well as disruption to water and communications networks.

A dispute rooted in six decades of policy

The US embargo began in 1960, following Fidel Castro’s revolution and Cuba’s nationalisation of property owned by US interests. Over the decades, the policy has remained a central source of conflict between the two governments.

Supporters of the embargo argue that Cuba’s government bears responsibility for political repression and economic mismanagement. Cuban leaders maintain that US restrictions have damaged trade, restricted access to financing and made it harder for the country to obtain essential supplies.

The General Assembly resolution does not compel the United States to change its laws or sanctions policy. Its importance is therefore political rather than legal: it gives governments an opportunity to state their position publicly on the embargo and on the broader relationship between the United States and Cuba.

This year’s result showed that a substantial majority of UN member states still favour lifting the restrictions. At the same time, the decline in support compared with the previous vote signals a notable diplomatic shift as Cuba confronts worsening economic pressure and Washington pursues a tougher approach.