UN votes overwhelmingly to condemn US embargo of Cuba

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday to condemn the American economic embargo of Cuba for the 30th year, with the Biden administration continuing former President Donald Trump's opposition and refusing to return to the Obama administration's 2016 abstention.

The vote in the 193-member General Assembly was 185 countries supporting the condemnation, the United States and Israel opposing it, and Brazil and Ukraine abstaining.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said before the vote that since 2019, the US government “has escalated the siege around our country, taking it to an even crueler and more humane dimension, with the purpose of deliberately inflicting the biggest possible damage on Cuban families.”

During the first 14 months of the Biden administration, the damage to the Cuban economy was estimated at $6.35 billion, equivalent to more than $15 million a day, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the Biden administration is continuing Trump's “maximum pressure” policy.

He said that despite some positive but limited adjustments in recent months on US flights to Cuba, remittances and consular proceedings, these in no way “modify American economic, commercial and financial measures.”

“The blockade, which has been tightened to the extreme, continues to be the central element that defines the US-Cuba policy,” the foreign minister said.

US political counsellor John Kelley told the assembly after the vote that the United States remains committed to the Cuban people's pursuit of freedom and dignity, is focused on their political and economic well-being, and centres its efforts “on democracy and human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.