UN vote on Cuba embargo support falls to 30-year low amid diplomatic row

The United Nations General Assembly has again voted to call for an end to the United States embargo on Cuba, but support for the resolution has fallen to its lowest level in more than 30 years. The measure passed with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions, according to the tally released after the session in New York. That is the weakest level of support since 1995, and well below last year's backing from more than 160 countries.

The vote is nonbinding, but it is closely watched as a measure of international opinion on the long-running dispute. Germany, Italy and Latvia abstained for the first time in 34 years, while several countries including Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Morocco, Slovenia and Bosnia voted against the resolution for the first time. The text again called for the lifting of the economic, trade and financial embargo that has been in place since 1960.

The session came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Havana. Just before the vote, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, denied that Cuba was under a blockade and blamed the island's hardship on what he called a corrupt communist government. Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, accused Washington of trying to determine the country's future and seize its wealth.

The Cuban government has also said the United States has been pressing other countries to withdraw support for the annual resolution. The dispute has broader significance because the embargo remains one of the most enduring points of friction in US-Cuba relations. The annual resolution has been approved almost every year since 1992, and the result is often treated as a diplomatic barometer even though it carries no legal force.

The latest vote also comes as Washington has increased pressure on Havana through restrictions on oil supplies and wider sanctions, measures that Cuban officials say have deepened economic strain on the island. The exchange at the General Assembly added to the political weight of the vote. During the session, Waltz accused senior Cuban officials of living in luxury while ordinary people faced shortages, and he displayed images of Cuban leaders, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Members of the Cuban delegation responded by banging on their desks, and Díaz-Canel later accused the United States on social media of using coercion. The confrontation underlined how the annual debate has become not only a vote on sanctions, but also a stage for a wider diplomatic struggle. What remains unclear is whether the lower level of support marks a lasting shift in international positions or a temporary response to the current campaign by Washington.

It is also not yet clear how the latest confrontation will affect future talks or the tone of relations between the two governments. For now, the result shows that the embargo continues to divide the General Assembly, even as the balance of votes has moved noticeably away from Cuba's side.

The United Nations General Assembly has again voted to condemn the United States economic embargo of Cuba, in a result that underlines the long-running diplomatic divide over the policy. The resolution passed on Wednesday with 130 countries in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions. The vote came after a US effort to persuade more countries to withhold support for the measure.

The United States and Israel were among the 17 countries that voted against the resolution. The abstentions included Germany and Italy, both of which had previously supported the text, according to the vote tally reported after the session. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said after the vote that Washington was "once again isolated in its attempt to continue strangling the Cuban people".

He added that "neither its most insane pretexts nor its pressures nor media circus will prevail over the force of facts and truth". The annual vote has been held for more than three decades, reflecting broad international opposition to the embargo. Cuba says the sanctions worsen hardship on the island, while the United States has defended its policy as part of a wider effort to isolate Havana and pressure its government.

The latest result also comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump has introduced additional economic restrictions, including what the report described as an energy blockade, to tighten pressure further. The increase in abstentions is being presented by US officials as evidence that their diplomatic campaign is having some effect. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said he was satisfied that several countries had shifted position, including major economies such as South Korea and Germany.

He said diplomacy takes time and suggested the number of countries moving away from support for the resolution would continue to grow. That claim is central to Washington's argument that its broader isolation strategy is slowly succeeding. The vote also took place against a backdrop of sharp tensions between US and Cuban representatives at the General Assembly on Tuesday.

The report said the exchange escalated into shouting and an apparent shoving match. Waltz later said Richard Tur de la Concepcion, a first secretary at Cuba's UN mission, would be expelled from the country for what he described as assaulting an American diplomat. The incident adds a personal diplomatic dimension to an already fraught dispute over sanctions and sovereignty.

What remains unclear is whether the rise in abstentions will translate into a lasting shift in international support for the US position. It is also not clear how the latest diplomatic confrontation will affect relations between Washington and Havana in the coming days. For now, the annual vote shows that the embargo remains one of the most persistent and contested issues at the United Nations.

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