Argentina, Paraguay, North Macedonia, Ukraine and Hungary joined the United States and Israel this Wednesday (29) as the countries that voted at the United Nations against the resolution that condemns the American blockade of Cuba.
The UN General Assembly approved today, for another year and by a large majority (165 votes in favor, seven against and 12 abstentions), a non-binding resolution against US sanctions on Cuba, which have already lasted 63 years. Among the abstentions, those of Ecuador, Latvia and Costa Rica stood out.
However, the presidents of the United States and Argentina, Donald Trump and Javier Milei, broke the almost unanimity that Cuba had achieved against Washington’s sanctions on the island, as the resolution had never received seven votes against.
According to information from The Washington Post, before the vote, the American ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, called the annual presentation of the resolution a “political theater” by Cuba to “present itself as a victim of aggression”, although it is “clearly an enemy of the United States”.
“I suggest that our Member States stop appeasing the regime with their votes and instead use this vote to send a message to the world,” Waltz urged during the General Assembly debate on Tuesday (28).
The ambassador added that the vote could also send a signal to Cuba not to “blame the United States for all its economic problems.” This Wednesday, there was unprecedented support against the resolution that condemns the embargo.
The resolution has a purely symbolic character and has been presented every year by Cuba since 1992. With the exception of 2020, when there was no vote due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the measure has always been approved and has enjoyed practically unanimous support from the international community in recent years.
Last year, there were 187 votes in favor of ending the blockade, with two against, from the USA and Israel. At the time, Milei fired his then Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, after Argentina voted in favor of the resolution.
