In brief
The UN General Assembly approved a resolution to end the U.S. embargo on Cuba with 130 votes in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions. Cuba’s government condemned the outcome and cited U.S. pressure, while U.S. officials blamed Cuba’s internal policy. African, Italian, Peruvian and Brazilian voices urged solidarity, noting the economic damage to the Cuban people.
On Oct. 28 the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for the end of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, the vote passing 130 in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions, according to United Press International and Xinhua.
The resolution marked a 35‑vote drop in support for Cuba compared with the 2025 vote, when 165 countries backed the measure; this shift stemmed from several Latin American and European states changing their positions, UPI reported.
Countries that moved from support to opposition or abstention included Colombia, Chile, Peru, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Ecuador, while Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Panama kept their backing, the report said.
In response, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the economic and humanitarian effects of the sanctions, noting they limit access to fuel, medicine and food; he said,
He further likened U.S. fuel restrictions to a naval blockade.“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.”
U.S. officials countered that the vote reflected Cuba’s internal policy and criticized the conduct of Cuban delegates, the United Press International article stated.
Across the world, African leaders urged unity; Pan‑Africanist analyst Fortune Madondo called for “a unified stance—with no whispers or abstentions—in support of the Caribbean island at the General Assembly,” he said in a statement carried by Prensa Latina.
Italian academics and associations also pushed for a supportive vote. Luciano Vasapollo urged European governments to reject U.S. pressure, while the National Italy‑Cuba Friendship Association wrote to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani requesting a favorable vote, citing historical opposition to U.S. sanctions.
Peruvian former ambassador Hugo Otero pleaded that Latin Americans defend Cuba’s sovereignty, warning that U.S. actions could threaten the independence of the whole continent, Prensa Latina reported.
In Brazil, the General Abreu e Lima Anti‑Imperialist Committee affirmed solidarity with Cuba and Raul Castro, criticizing a Florida warrant as part of U.S. intimidation, the story noted.
Meanwhile, Cuba’s ambassador to the Holy See, Leyde Rodriguez, announced that the blockade had caused $8.083 billion in damage from March 2025 to February 2026 and urged the UN to lift the sanctions, according to Prensa Latina.
Later that day, President Miguel Diaz‑Canel celebrated the vote on X, calling it a “victory for the heroic Cuban people” and describing the outcome as a triumph of truth over “lies and blackmail,” Xinhua reported.
