Most nations at UN vote to condemn U.S. embargo on Cuba
asserted
nations → vote → Cuba
But last year's vote was more sharply lopsided in its opposition to the embargo
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly urged an end to the decades-long U.S. economic embargo on Cuba on Wednesday, but a U.S. lobbying push led several countries to oppose the resolution or abstain for the first time in years.
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push → urge → years
The results showed 130 nations — including Canada — in favour of the resolution, 25 abstaining and 17 countries, including the U.S. and Israel, voting against.
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countries → show → U.S.
That compared with a tally of 165-7, with 12 abstentions, last year.
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That → compare → abstentions
Several Western countries, including Germany and Italy, abstained for the first time in many years.
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countries → include → years
The UN vote carries political weight, but only the U.S. Congress can lift the Cold War-era embargo.
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Congress → carry → embargo
The 193-member UN General Assembly has adopted the resolution annually for more than three decades — except for 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Assembly → adopt → pandemic
"I'm satisfied that so many countries now, including major economies like Korea, like Germany, and others have shifted their position," the U.S. envoy to the UN Mike Waltz told reporters after the vote.
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envoy → include → vote
"Diplomacy takes time, but now that we've had a tripling of countries that have shifted, we expect that to only to continue to grow."
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that → take → countries
The tensions between the two nations at the UN escalated ahead of the vote, including shouting matches between Cuban and U.S. diplomats at the UN last week, as well as yelling and shoving on the floor of the General Assembly on Tuesday.
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tensions → escalate → Tuesday
U.S. to expel Cuban diplomat
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U.S. → expel → diplomat
On Wednesday, Waltz accused a Cuban diplomat of "assaulting an American diplomat" during the Tuesday exchanges, adding that Richard Tur de la Concepción, a first secretary at Cuba's UN mission, will be expelled from the U.S.
"That Cuban first secretary will be on a plane out of the country back to Havana today," Waltz told reporters at the UN.
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Waltz → accuse → UN
Cuba's UN mission did not immediately respond to questions on the expulsion.
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mission → respond → expulsion
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz says a Cuban diplomat will be expelled from the United States shortly.
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diplomat → say → States
The U.S. has maintained a trade embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been stepping up the pressure, after using the U.S. military in January to remove Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
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administration → maintain → Maduro
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said on X after the vote that the "U.S. government is once again isolated in its attempt to continue strangling the Cuban people and subjecting them to an act of collective punishment and genocide.
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government → say → punishment
"
"Neither its most insane pretexts nor its pressures nor media circus will prevail over the force of facts and truth," he said.
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he → prevail → facts
The United States has voted against the UN resolutions since 1992 but abstained for the first time in 2016 under former president Barack Obama, as Washington and Havana forged a closer relationship.
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Washington → vote → relationship
A person pushes a shopping cart loaded with recycling materials, past the Capitol building in Havana on Monday.
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person → push → Monday
Cuba has blamed U.S. sanctions for the crisis the country is mired in, the worst economic downturn in decades characterized by shortages of basic goods, collapsing infrastructure and runaway inflation.
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country → blame → goods
Last month, Trump said at the UN that Cuba was a failed state and freedom would be coming to the island nation.
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freedom → say → nation
Cuba's electrical grid suffered a total collapse last month, plunging the island into darkness and leaving millions without power.
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grid → suffer → power
The Aporia
