This year’s result does not reverse the condemnation of the embargo, but it opens a crack in blocs that until now voted for the end of the sanctions.
MIAMI, United States. – The United Nations General Assembly approved this Wednesdayfor the 33rd time, the resolution that calls for the end of the United States embargo on Cuba, with 165 votes in favor, seven against and 12 abstentions. The figure marks a significant drop compared to past votes and shows the appearance of an unusual bloc of “no” and abstentions among Washington’s allies and partners, in contrast to the Latin American and European unanimity of recent years.
According to the record released after the votevoted against: Argentina, the United States, Hungary, Israel, North Macedonia, Paraguay and Ukraine. Abstained: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czechia, Ecuador, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Moldova, Romania and Poland. In 2024, only the United States and Israel had opposed it and the only abstention was Moldova.
For the first time, Argentina broke its historic vote in favor of ending the embargo and aligned itself with the “no”. In 2024 he had supported the resolution and, in fact, that vote led to the departure of the then chancellor Diana Mondino.
Costa Rica abstained for the first time in three decades, a relevant change in Central America, where support for the resolution had been consistent.
Ukraine cast its first vote against the resolution: in 2023 it had abstained and in 2024 it voted in favor. kyiv’s turn coincides with complaints against the Havana regime for the participation of its nationals in the Russian invasion.
Europe was no longer monolithic: Hungary was the only member of the European Union to vote “no”, while Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and the three Baltic countries abstained. In 2024, the European vote had been fully favorable to the text.
The United States ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, He called on countries to modify their voting pattern and maintained: “There is no blockage. It is absolutely false”; asked to “abstain in this vote or vote ‘no’ together with the United States”; and described the annual debate as “political theater” with which “the Cuban regime tries to convince (…) that the world considers it innocent” of its abuses.
Although the resolution “Need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”is not binding.
In 2024, the result had been 187 in favor, two against and one abstention, with unanimous support from Latin America and the Caribbean and all EU members. This year’s abrupt adjustment – with seven “no”s and 12 abstentions – does not reverse the structural majority against the embargo, but it opens a crack in blocs that until now voted for the end of the sanctions.
US Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart celebrated on his social networks that “a growing list of countries” changed their vote in the UN General Assembly and aligned themselves “with the Cuban people and the United States.”
Díaz-Balart stressed that Washington’s policy “simply denies dollars to a terrorist dictatorship that oppresses its people and destabilizes the hemisphere,” also pointing out that the Cuban regime “supports the despotic regimes of Venezuela and Nicaragua, hosts Russian and Chinese intelligence operations, and has sent nationals to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
According to the legislator, the recent vote “demonstrates that more and more countries are siding with the sacred cause of the freedom of the Cuban people.”
