Cuba denies U.S. allegations of mercenary activity in Ukraine and says the embargo is a form of collective punishment.
Published October 29, 2025
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly called for an end to the United States’ 33-year economic embargo on Cuba, despite lobbying by the U.S. government, including shared accusations that up to 5,000 Cubans are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
The resolution was adopted with 165 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 12 abstentions. Unlike in previous years, the United States persuaded Argentina, Hungary, North Macedonia, Paraguay, and Ukraine to join the resolution, as well as Israel to vote against it.
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At last year’s General Assembly, 187 countries voted in favor of the resolution. Only the United States and Israel voted against it, with Moldova abstained.
Cuba rejects the U.S. claims as baseless and has released information about a lawsuit against Cuban nationals for mercenary activities in Ukraine. Communist Cuba has openly sided with its ally Russia in the conflict, while also calling for peace talks.
While U.N. votes carry political weight, only the U.S. Congress can lift Cold War-era trade embargoes. The 193-member United Nations General Assembly has adopted this resolution every year for more than 30 years, except in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The blockade is a policy of collective punishment,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told Congress before the vote. “This is a gross, massive and systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people. There is no distinction between social sectors or economic actors.”
“Cuba will not surrender,” he said.
Before the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz described the annual exercise as “political theater” by Cuba, which “professes to be ‘enemies of the United States’ while portraying itself as the victim of aggression.”
“I suggest that member states stop appeasing the regime with their votes and instead use this vote to send a message to the world,” Walz said during Tuesday’s General Assembly debate, adding that the vote could also be a signal to Cuba “not to blame all of our economic problems on the United States.”
U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Jeff Bartos said Wednesday that the affirmative vote “gives this administration an excuse to wash away responsibility for the financial crisis and continue the blame game instead of enacting meaningful reforms, or an attempt to shift blame.”
“The United States will continue to push for accountability for the communist regime and its reprehensible actions on and off the island,” he told Congress after the vote.
The United States has consistently voted against U.N. resolutions since 1992, but abstained for the first time under former President Barack Obama in 2016 due to the close ties between Washington and Havana.
Then, under President Donald Trump’s first administration, Washington again opposed the resolution. President Trump also eased the embargo and rescinded nearly all steps taken by President Obama to improve relations between the United States and its former Cold War enemy.
The United States continued to vote against it even under the administration of President Trump’s successor, President Joe Biden.
