In brief
The General Assembly passed the resolution with 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions, down from 165 in 2025. Cuban officials condemned the vote and claimed U.S. pressure, while U.S. officials blamed Cuba for internal policy and condemned Cuban delegates. Italian and African voices warned of U.S. blackmail and urged solidarity ahead of the vote.
United Nations General Assembly members voted on 28 October to adopt a resolution calling for the end of the United States’ embargo on Cuba, a measure that passed with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions, down from the 165 votes in support recorded during the 2025 vote.
United Press International reports that the country lost 35 votes in support over the past year, as more states opposed the resolution or chose to abstain. Twenty‑one nations did not participate in the vote.
Following the vote, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the resolution as part of Washington’s continued sanctions campaign. “The consequences fall on people, limit their fundamental human rights, affect third countries and turn the population’s essential needs into instruments of political coercion,” Rodríguez said.
U.S. officials blamed Cuba’s internal policy for the outcome and criticised the conduct of Cuban delegates, describing the delegation’s actions as unbecoming of a representative of a sovereign nation.
“The damages inflicted upon the Caribbean nation reached a record figure of $8.083 billion between March 2025 and February 2026.”― Cuban Ambassador to the Holy See, Leyde Rodriguez
The ambassador warned that the blockade’s energy restrictions amounted to an “equivalent to a naval blockade” and characterized the policy as a form of collective punishment, urging the Un to lift the embargo at the upcoming debate on October 27–28.
In the days leading up to the vote, African and Italian commentators called for solidarity with Cuba. African analyst Fortune Madondo urged members of the African Union to unite in a single voice to counter U.S. pressure, warning that the United States was “blackmailing” governments. Meanwhile, Italian scholar Luciano Vasapollo and the National Italy‑Cuba Friendship Association wrote to the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, urging a favourable vote and rejecting external influences.
