Support for Cuba's Annual U.N. Embargo Resolution Falls to 130 Votes, a Record Low, as Waltz Pushes Back
Breitbart says 14 nations voted no, including Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay and Ukraine, against 165 yes votes last year. The measure still passed. The embargo itself is unchanged.
The U.N. General Assembly passed Cuba's yearly resolution against the U.S. embargo on Wednesday, but with the fewest yes votes since the tradition began in the 1990s, Breitbart reports.
The count. Breitbart says 130 countries backed the resolution, down from 165 last year and 187 in 2024, when only the United States and Israel voted no. This year 14 countries voted against, including Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Abstentions included Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, South Korea, Albania, the Solomon Islands and Palau. Venezuela, Syria, Jordan, Tajikistan and Somalia did not vote. The resolution is symbolic and does not change U.S. policy.
The movement. Citing the outlet Cubanet, Breitbart says Colombia, the UAE, Slovenia, and Trinidad and Tobago switched from yes to no. Another 17 countries moved from yes to abstain. Six that abstained last year voted no: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Lithuania and Morocco. Only Madagascar and Nauru moved toward Cuba, both from abstain to yes.
The U.S. view. U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz said: "Today nearly triple the number of nations voted no, abstained, or just chose not to vote, turning their back on Havana's sham resolution at the UN." He added: "More work to do, but the world is starting to push back on Cuban regime propaganda as their corruption and oppression is exposed." He posed with Cuban dissidents Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat and Jose Daniel Ferrer.
The background. Breitbart says Waltz spent the month making the case that Cuba's poverty stems from theft by the Castro family and party elite, citing evidence on a private island and a Rolex collection. Our earlier stories cover the clash in the chamber and the expulsion of a Cuban diplomat.
Note for readers: the country counts and the claims about Cuban elites come from Breitbart and Cubanet, and the piece uses strong language about the Cuban government that we have left out. Cuba's government blames the embargo for its hardship.