Some countries cave to Trump and sit out of UN vote over Cuba embargo for first time in 34 years

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Donovan, B. (2026, October 28). Some countries cave to Trump and sit out of UN vote over Cuba embargo for first time in 34 years. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-cuba-united-nations-vote-mike-waltz-b3075024.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-28 · by Brittney Donovan

Quick Summary

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to condemn the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba, with 130 countries in favor and 17 against, including notable abstentions from Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates for the first time in 34 years due to pressure from the Trump administration. The vote reflects growing tensions between Washington and Havana, as evidenced by a heated exchange on Tuesday when U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz accused Cuban officials of lying during a debate about the embargo resolution at the UN.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-28, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 28, 2026, during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Ambassador Mike Waltz from the U.S. and Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla engaged in a heated exchange on the floor of the General Assembly hall regarding the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. The incident began when Waltz delivered a speech criticizing the Cuban regime, prompting Rodríguez to approach the podium where Waltz was speaking and challenge him.

During this confrontation, both sides shouted at each other while the assembly president attempted to restore order. This led to a shouting match between the two delegations, with some countries abstaining from or voting against condemning the U.S. embargo for the first time in years due to pressure from the Trump administration's lobbying efforts. The final vote on the resolution saw 130 nations supporting the end of the embargo, 25 abstentions, and 17 opposing it.

Cuba’s delegation accused Waltz of arrogance and hubris during this exchange, noting that such behavior is inappropriate at an international body like the UN. Meanwhile, U.S. officials claimed diplomatic progress despite initial setbacks, pointing to a significant shift in positions by several countries compared to previous years' votes on the issue. The resolution carries political weight but does not legally bind any country to change its policies toward Cuba.

Written for “US And Cuba Clash At UN” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high 1 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 112372 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-28

Story

📰 US And Cuba Clash At UN
Politics · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Veto power hinders efforts to end conflicts: UN different event · 98%
Dawn
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 14% hedged 3 of 21 📰 publisher trust 72
“The articles discuss different aspects of UN activities: one about veto power hindering conflict resolution efforts, and another about a specific vote on the Cuba embargo.”
UN holds annual vote on condemning US embargo on Cuba as tensions spill into public same event · 98%
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 10% hedged 2 of 21 📰 publisher trust 70
“Both articles describe the UN vote on condemning the US embargo on Cuba happening on the same day with similar outcomes.”
US gets more countries to oppose UN resolution condemning its Cuba embargo same event · 98%
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 16 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles describe the same U.N. General Assembly vote on October 28, 2026, with nearly identical details about the vote results and countries' actions.”
Cuban ambassadors ask Canada to renew its rejection of U.S. embargo and fuel blockade different event · 90%
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 10% hedged 6 of 58 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles discuss different aspects of the U.S. embargo on Cuba; Article A refers to Canada's position, while Article B reports on the UN vote results including abstentions from some countries.”
‘This is America’: US envoy scolds Cuban diplomat at UN different event · 90%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4 📰 publisher trust 60
“While both articles refer to a UN vote on the US embargo of Cuba, they describe different aspects: one focuses on a confrontation between diplomats, while the other covers the voting results and abstentions.”
'This is America!' Waltz says as he and Cubans get into shouting match at UN different event · 90%
ABC News (US)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 2 of 19 📰 publisher trust 70
“Article A describes a shouting match between U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz and Cuba's delegation during a UN debate, while Article B reports on countries abstaining or voting against the U.S. embargo of Cuba in an official UN vote.”
Cuban envoy asks Canada to renew rejection of U.S. blockade different event · 80%
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 6 of 57 📰 publisher trust 53
“The articles describe different stages of a related issue: Article A discusses Canada's potential stance on the U.S. embargo, while Article B reports on an actual UN vote where some countries abstained for the first time in 34 years.”
U.S., Cuba shouting match derails debate at UN different event · 80%
The Hindu
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 12 📰 publisher trust 78
“Article A describes a shouting match between U.S. and Cuba representatives during UN debate on Tuesday, while Article B reports on the voting results of the resolution condemning the U.S. embargo on Wednesday.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Brittney Donovan
21 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Brittney Donovan
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 21 articles by Brittney Donovan →

Topics

Cuba Cuban U.N. U.S. Washington

Subjects

U.S. GPE · 10× Cuba GPE · 8× Cuban NORP · 4× Waltz PERSON · 4× U.N. ORG · 3× Rodríguez PERSON · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× Washington GPE · 2× Independent NORP · 1× The U.N. General Assembly ORG · 1×

Narrative

Shortly after Waltz had begun his criticism of the socialist government, Rodríguez walked down to the podium where the U.S. envoy was addressing the hall and called him a liar while trying to get a point of order from the official presiding over the session. “This individual needs to back away from this podium.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-28
🔮 Trump once again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention last week, saying U.S. warships could stop over in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war.
2026-10-28 · The Independent
Some countries cave to Trump and sit out of UN vote over Cuba embargo for first time in 34 years · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba on Wednesday but some countries sat out of the vote for the first time in 34 years after pressure from the Trump administration. asserted
countries → vote → administration
Germany, Italy and Latvia were among Western countries that abstained for the first time in 34 years. asserted
that → abstain → years
Lithuania, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates broke from their historic position by voting against the resolution. asserted
Lithuania → break → resolution
Costa Rica, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras and Chile, which have traditionally backed Cuba’s efforts, opposed the resolution or abstained. asserted
which → back → resolution
Washington's campaign to influence the outcome was attributed as the reason a number of countries voted against the resolution or sat out for the first time. asserted
number → influence → time
It is not legally binding, but such votes reflect world opinion. asserted
votes → reflect → opinion
The vote came as Cuba endures deepening financial crises while the U.S. increases its already punishing economic campaign. asserted
U.S. → come → campaign
Trump once again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention last week, saying U.S. warships could stop over in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war. uncertain
warships → raise → war
Mike Waltz’s shouting match with Cuban officials Tensions between Washington and Havana have spilled over into public forums at the United Nations. asserted
Tensions → spill → Nations
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez found themselves in a shouting match on the floor of the General Assembly while debating the embargo resolution. asserted
Waltz → find → resolution
Shortly after Waltz had begun his criticism of the socialist government, Rodríguez walked down to the podium where the U.S. envoy was addressing the hall and called him a liar while trying to get a point of order from the official presiding over the session. “This individual needs to back away from this podium. asserted
individual → begin → podium
He’s not going to intimidate me in the United States of America,” Waltz said as U.N. security and personnel tried to intervene. asserted
security → go → America
"You understand who you’re dealing with? asserted
you → understand → who
In a post on X, Rodríguez reminded Waltz where he was making his remarks, saying he's at the U.N., not at a national security meeting at the White House. asserted
he → remind → House
“With his crude lies at the UN General Assembly, the U.S. government has launched another desperate attempt to justify its economic aggression against Cuba and its criminal energy blockade,” he continued. asserted
he → launch → Cuba
A week earlier, a similar interaction between Waltz and his Cuban counterpart, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, took place outside a U.S.-hosted panel with Cuban dissidents and former prisoners that sought to highlight allegations of the oppressive behavior of the island's government. asserted
that → take → government
The episodes reflect a clear break from the traditional diplomatic decorum expected at the U.N. and the new phase of contentiousness between the U.S. and Cuba. asserted
episodes → reflect → U.S.
The U.S. embargo against Cuba was first imposed in 1960 after Fidel Castro led a revolution that toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista and nationalized properties belonging to U.S. citizens and corporations. asserted
that → impose → citizens
As a result, the Caribbean country has spent decades facing the dire impact of longtime economic and financial troubles. asserted
country → spend → troubles
It is now being pushed to a breaking point after Trump announced in late January that he would impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. asserted
that → push → Cuba
The warning has effectively cut off fuel to the island, leading to widespread power outages that affect basic activities such as cooking, the water supply and internet and telephone services. asserted
that → cut → cooking
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