UNITED NATIONS — The UN General Assembly on Wednesday condemned the US economic embargo on Cuba for the 34th year, voting 130 to 17 with 25 abstentions, the Associated Press reported.
Source: Associated Press via Military.com
The backing was the weakest for the resolution in two decades, UN News said. Last year the text passed 165 to 7 with 12 abstentions, and support peaked at 191 votes in 2015 and 2017. Germany, Italy and Latvia were among Western countries that abstained for the first time in the resolution's 34-year history, after a US lobbying campaign to influence the outcome.
Source: UN News
Reuters reported the same tally and said several countries voted against or abstained for the first time in years. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told reporters: "I'm satisfied that so many countries now, including major economies like Korea, like Germany, and others have shifted their position," adding that diplomacy takes time and that Washington expects the shift to grow.
Source: Reuters via WTBX
The vote is not legally binding and only the US Congress can lift the Cold War-era embargo, Reuters noted. The resolution, presented by Cuba, cites UN Charter principles of sovereign equality and non-interference, names the US 1996 Helms-Burton Act, and urges states with similar laws to repeal them, according to UN News.
Tensions spilled over after the vote. Waltz accused a Cuban diplomat of "assaulting an American diplomat" during Tuesday's exchanges — which included shouting matches and shoving on the Assembly floor — and said Richard Tur de la Concepcion, a first secretary at Cuba's UN mission, will be expelled and "will be on a plane out of the country back to Havana today", Reuters reported. Cuba's UN mission did not immediately respond to questions on the expulsion.
AP said the vote came as Cuba weathers a deepening financial and energy crisis while the US increases its economic campaign, and that President Donald Trump last week again raised the prospect of US warships stopping in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war. UN News said US tariff threats against Cuba's oil suppliers have effectively cut off fuel deliveries, making life harder across the island.
The resolution itself changes no US law — lifting the embargo remains a decision for the US Congress. What changed on Wednesday is the diplomatic scoreboard: Washington can point to a tripling of countries shifting position, while Havana can still point to a large majority calling for the embargo to end.