United Nations calls for end to US embargo on Cuba, again

Despite lobbying from Washington, including sharing the claim that up to 5, 000 Cubans are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, the UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly demanded that the US put an end to its 33rd year economic embargo.

With 165 votes for, 7 against, and 12 abstentions, the resolution was approved. In contrast to previous years, the US persuaded Israel, Argentina, Hungary, North Macedonia, Paraguay, and Ukraine to join the resolution and convince them to support it.

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The resolution was approved by the General Assembly last year, with 187 nations supporting it. Only Israel and the United States cast ballots in favor of it, while Moldova abstained.

Cuba has released information on legal proceedings against Cubans for mercenary activity in Ukraine and disproved US claims as untrue. Cuba, which is under communist control, has publicly backed its ally Russia in the conflict while also calling for peace talks.

Only the US Congress can lift the Cold War-era embargo, but the UN vote has political weight. Except for 2020, when the COVID pandemic occurs, the UN General Assembly has adopted the resolution every year for more than three decades.

Before the vote, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez addressed the assembly and stated, “The blockade is a policy of collective punishment.” It flagrantly, massively, and systematically violates Cuba’s human rights. There is no distinction between economic actors and social sectors.

He declared, “Cuba will not give up.”

US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, described the annual exercise as “political theater” by Cuba before the vote, “casting itself as the victim of aggression while clearly describing itself as “the enemy of the United States.”

During the Tuesday General Assembly debate, Waltz said, “I would suggest that our member states stop appeasing the regime with their votes and use this vote to send a message to the world.” He added that the vote could also encourage Cuba to “blame the United States” for its economic problems.

Jeff Bartos, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, stated on Wednesday that a vote in favor of “this regime” leaves it with the excuse for its financial crisis and continues to hold the blame for the failure to implement meaningful reforms.

After the vote, he told the assembly that “the United States will continue to support accountability for the communist regime and their repugnant behavior both on and off the island.”

Since 1992, the United States has consistently cast ballots against UN resolutions, but for the first time since under former president Barack Obama, as relations between Washington and Havana intensified.

Under the first administration of President Donald Trump, Washington then turned around and started opposing the resolution. Trump also reversed nearly all of Obama’s actions to ease the embargo and strengthen ties with its former Cold War adversary.