Diplomatic tensions rose at the United Nations on Oct. 19 when Cuban representatives challenged a U.S. event about alleged rights abuses, ahead of another vote on Washington’s trade embargo against the island.
The General Assembly is expected to vote Oct. 27-28 on a nonbinding resolution calling for the embargo to end, Reuters reported, citing officials. The measure has passed by wide margins since 1992, except in 2020, when pandemic restrictions prevented a vote.
U.S. diplomats organized the event featuring Cuban dissidents. Reuters reported that Cuban representatives shouted at U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz as he left. Waltz accused them of harassing and filming former political prisoners and others.
Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations Ernesto Soberón Guzmán protested outside the gathering. He accused the United States of imposing “collective punishment” on Cubans and said its measures were causing suffering across the island.
Waltz accused Cuba’s government of using the annual resolution to spread falsehoods and make excuses for what he called its oppression of Cubans. Cuba, for its part, blames U.S. sanctions for its economic crisis. Reuters reported that shortages, inflation and failing infrastructure have marked the downturn, and that a September electrical grid collapse left millions without power.
The U.S. trade embargo has been in place for more than 60 years. Although a General Assembly vote can carry political weight, ending the embargo requires action by Congress. The next vote is expected Oct. 27-28.
