In brief
The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba with 130 votes in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions—down 35 votes from 2025. Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Panama retained their support, while Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Paraguay opposed the measure. Cuba’s government condemned the vote and accused Washington of coercion; U.S. officials blamed Cuba’s internal policy and criticized its delegates’ conduct. Only Prensa Latina reported that Cuba’s ambassador to the Holy See described the blockade as genocidal.
The U.N. General Assembly voted to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba, but the island nation lost 35 votes in support from last year’s tally, according to United Press International.
In 2026 the resolution passed with 130 votes in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions, compared with 165 votes in favor, seven against and 12 abstentions in 2025. Another 21 countries did not participate. The shift saw Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Panama maintain their backing, while Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Paraguay voted against the resolution. Chile, Peru and Honduras moved from supporting to abstaining, and Costa Rica and Ecuador switched from abstention to opposition. In Latin America, Cuba also lost support from Colombia, which opposed the measure this year after it had backed it in 2025, and from three countries that originally supported the resolution and now abstained.
Cuba’s foreign ministry blasted the vote and called it “a continuation of U.S. sanctions.” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said the sanctions restrict fuel, medicine and food, and accused Washington of “economic blockading” the island. The Cuban government viewed the vote as a diplomatic attack that limits people’s basic rights.
U.S. officials blamed Cuba’s “internal policy” for the outcome. They criticized the conduct of Cuban delegates, suggesting that poor diplomacy and insufficient engagement with other states contributed to the loss of support.
Only Prensa Latina reported that Cuba’s ambassador to the Holy See, Leyde Rodriguez, denounced the blockade as genocidal and claimed that damages since March 2025 had risen to $8.083 billion, a figure 7 percent higher than the peak reported a year earlier.
