US-Cuba embargo vote dispute intensifies at UN after Waltz hosts Cuba Libre panel

The United States and Cuba faced off at the United Nations as the Trump administration again tried to sway an annual vote. The vote condemns Washington’s long-running economic embargo on Havana. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz held an event to press countries to oppose the measure next week.

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At UN headquarters, Waltz hosted a "Cuba Libre\" panel with dissidents and former prisoners. The session showed explicit video that appeared to show detentions in Cuba. Speakers said they faced torture and long persecution for criticising the government. Havana has denied holding political prisoners, though activists report thousands jailed for political reasons.

United States Cuba UN vote on embargo resolution

\"This is the oppression that Havana wants to hide,\" Waltz said at the event. Waltz urged governments to look beyond \"70 years of propaganda\" before voting. Waltz asked countries to reject the resolution planned for the following week. The Trump administration ran a similar push for the second year in a row.

Nearby, Cuban Ambassador to the UN Ernesto Soberón Guzmán gathered diplomats and supporters to denounce the panel. \"This charade is an attempt to deviate attention from a simple fact: The US is acting as an international delinquent, enforcing collective punishment on the people of Cuba,\" Guzmán said. Guzmán called the programme a sham aimed at Cuba.

United States Cuba UN vote history and past results

The UN General Assembly has taken up the embargo resolution every year for 34 years. Each time, the text has won wide backing among the 193 member states. Last year’s vote was 165-7, with 12 abstentions. Argentina, Ukraine and Hungary opposed the measure for the first time.

These General Assembly resolutions do not carry legal force. Still, they signal global views on US policy towards Cuba. The embargo began in 1960 after Fidel Castro led a revolution. That revolt toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista and led to nationalisations affecting US citizens and firms.

United States Cuba UN vote and pressure campaign claims

The US campaign links to a wider effort to pressure Cuba’s political system, according to critics. The approach includes steps to restrict fuel reaching the island. The resulting shortages have been tied to major power cuts. Those outages disrupt cooking, water supply, and internet and telephone services.

Diplomatic ties shifted in 2015, when Raúl Castro and Barack Obama restored relations. In 2016, the United States abstained for the first time on the embargo resolution. Cuba has faced a deep economic and energy crisis since 2020. GDP has fallen amid blackouts, food shortages, and inflation.

The crisis has also brought repeated protests and large-scale migration from the island. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have left, with many travelling to the United States. Against that backdrop, the United Nations again prepares for the annual vote. The renewed UN clash showed both governments pressing rivals and allies ahead of the decision.

With inputs from PTI