Cuba accuses US of 'intimidating and deceptive pressure' ahead of UN vote on blockade: Video
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez has accused the United States of exerting “intimidating and deceptive pressure” on other governments ahead of a United Nations vote on lifting Washington’s decades-long trade embargo against the island.
Speaking in Havana on Wednesday, Rodríguez said the Cuban government had “reliable information” indicating that US officials were pressuring several countries, particularly in Latin America and Europe, to oppose or abstain from the annual UN resolution calling for an end to the blockade. He described the alleged actions as “another example of the coercive diplomacy that isolates Washington, not Cuba.”
The US embargo, first imposed in the 1960s, remains one of the world’s longest-standing economic sanctions. While the Obama administration made limited moves towards normalisation, President Donald Trump reversed those policies and re-added Cuba to the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Biden administration has so far maintained most of those restrictions.
Cuba’s resolution condemning the blockade has been presented annually at the UN General Assembly since 1992, consistently receiving overwhelming support. In the most recent vote, 187 countries backed the motion, with only the United States and Israel opposing it. The next debate and vote are scheduled for 28 October.
For Havana, the resolution serves as both a diplomatic reaffirmation and a political weapon, a way to highlight Washington’s isolation on the global stage. For the United States, however, the vote remains largely symbolic, underscoring a standoff that has lasted for more than six decades and shows little sign of easing.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
