In brief
The U.N. General Assembly voted 130‑17‑25 to lift the U.S. embargo against Cuba, marking its 34th endorsement of the move. The resolution, however, received fewer votes in favor than in 2025, with the Cuban delegation losing 35 supportive votes. The contrast was driven by Latin American countries and several European states that shifted from support to opposition or abstention, while African and Italian voices urged stronger backing. Cuban officials framed the outcome as a triumph over U.S. pressure and a “new victory” for the island’s people.
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution to lift the United States embargo against Cuba, but the measure received fewer votes in favor than the year before. The vote, counted 130 in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions, fell short of the 165 votes for the resolution in 2025, according to United Press International, which reported that Cuba lost 35 supporting votes in one year.
The shift came as Latin American states such as Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Paraguay moved from support to opposition, while Chile, Peru and Honduras switched from support to abstention. European voters Germany, Italy and Latvia also abstained after previously supporting the resolution.
Earlier this week, Cuban President Miguel Diaz‑Canel celebrated the vote as a “victory for the heroic Cuban people.” In a statement on X, Diaz‑Canel described the outcome as “a triumph of the truth over those who rely on lies and blackmail.”
In the same week, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, leading the delegation, called the vote a “new victory” and warned that Washington’s sanctions constitute an economic blockade that restricts fuel, medicine and food. He alleged the U.S. has waged an “intense diplomatic campaign” to sway other states.
Concurrent diplomatic voices urged universal support: African leaders were called by Prensa Latina’s analyst Fortune Madondo to unite behind Cuba, labeling U.S. pressure tactics as blackmail. Italian scholarship, represented by Luciano Vasapollo, likewise urged European states to reject Washington’s influence before the vote.
In addition, the Cuban ambassador to the Holy See, Leyde Rodriguez, stated that the embargo had caused $8.083 billion in damages between March 2025 and February 2026—a figure that has risen 7 percent since the peak reported a year earlier, according to Prensa Latina.
