The United States points to the increasing number of abstentions at the General Assembly as evidence that its push to isolate Cuba is gradually succeeding.
Published October 28, 2026
The United Nations General Assembly has again voted in favor of a resolution condemning the United States’ economic embargo on Cuba, despite pressure from U.S. authorities to withdraw its support.
The resolution was passed Wednesday with 130 countries, including the United States and Israel, voting in favor and 17 countries voting against it. A further 25 countries, including Germany and Italy, which had previously voted in favor, abstained. The General Assembly has voted annually for more than 30 years to condemn this embargo.
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Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a social media post after the vote that the United States was “isolated once again in an attempt to continue strangling the Cuban people.”
“No amount of crazy pretexts, no pressure, no media circus can overcome the power of facts and truth,” he added.
The U.S. embargo on Cuba, part of more than 60 years of efforts to isolate the country and strain its economy, has been widely condemned on the world stage and has contributed to exacerbating Cuba’s suffering.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has implemented a series of additional economic restrictions, including energy blockades, to further tighten the screws.
The economic activity has also been accompanied by U.S. diplomatic pressure to further isolate Havana, an effort that U.S. officials said was reflected in the growing number of countries that abstained from Wednesday’s vote. Cuban officials accused the United States of threatening to impose tariffs, visa restrictions and other penalties if they vote to condemn the embargo.
“We are pleased that so many countries have changed their positions, including major economies such as South Korea and Germany,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz told reporters after the vote.
“Diplomacy takes time, but now three times as many countries have shifted, so I expect that trend to continue,” he added.
Tensions between U.S. and Cuban officials exploded during a General Assembly debate on Tuesday, with both sides yelling at the other and an apparent shoving match.
Walz announced Wednesday that Richard Tour de la Concepcion, first secretary of Cuba’s mission to the United Nations, would be deported for “assault on an American diplomat.”
Al Jazeera reached out to the U.S. and Cuban missions for comment, but did not receive a response.
