U.N. Votes in Favor of Lifting US Embargo on Cuba, Despite Opposition from US and Israel

The United Nations General Assembly has once again urged the United States to lift its trade embargo against Cuba, as the island nation faces its worst economic crisis in decades. With shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, Cuba is facing significant challenges. The non-binding resolution received support from 187 countries, with only the United States and Israel opposing it, and Ukraine abstaining.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez addressed the assembly, highlighting how the embargo has hindered Cuba’s access to essential resources such as food, medicine, and technology. Furthermore, the trade restrictions prevent Cuba from exporting to its neighboring United States, resulting in significant losses of nearly $5 billion in 2022 alone.

Rodriguez went on to argue that the embargo amounts to a crime of genocide, accusing the United States of deliberately inflicting suffering on the Cuban people in an attempt to provoke political change. The trade embargo was initially imposed after Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959 and has remained largely unchanged, although former President Donald Trump tightened certain aspects of it. The complex web of U.S. laws and regulations complicates financial transactions and the procurement of goods and services by the Cuban government.

In opposition to the resolution, U.S. diplomat Paul Folmsbee stated that the trade embargo aimed to promote human rights and fundamental liberties in Cuba. He emphasized that the United States makes exceptions for humanitarian purposes and highlighted that the country remains a significant source of humanitarian goods for the Cuban people, as well as being one of Cuba’s main trading partners. In 2021 alone, the United States sold $295 million worth of agricultural products to Cuba.

Despite some limited gestures of goodwill under the administration of President Joe Biden, the long-standing dispute between Cuba and the United States shows little sign of detente. While Biden has taken minor steps to ease restrictions on Cuba, such as boosting consular services, he has made few moves to repeal the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

The situation remains unresolved, and the Cuban people continue to face the consequences of the trade embargo, as the international community urges the United States to reconsider its stance.