UN votes to condemn embargo of Cuba despite US lobbying push

What the report says

The United Nations General Assembly again voted to condemn the long-running US embargo on Cuba, despite an American lobbying effort aimed at reducing support for the measure. The resolution passed in New York on Wednesday with 130 votes in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions. Countries including Germany and Italy were among the abstentions, after previously backing the resolution in earlier years.

According to Al Jazeera, the vote continued a yearly pattern that has lasted for more than three decades. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said after the result that the US remained isolated in its effort to pressure Cuba. The article also notes that Washington has maintained broader restrictions on the island, and that the Trump administration has added further economic pressure, including measures described as an energy blockade.

US officials argued that the rise in abstentions showed progress in their campaign to shift international opinion. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said he was encouraged by the number of countries that changed their position and suggested the trend could continue. Cuban officials, meanwhile, accused the US of threatening governments with tariffs, visa limits and other consequences if they voted against Washington.

The vote came amid heightened tensions between US and Cuban representatives during a General Assembly debate the day before, which Al Jazeera reported included a shouting exchange and an apparent physical confrontation.