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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 8 Jul 20268 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
Cuba has denounced the \u201cruthless\u201d US embargo against the island during a United Nations General Assembly debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government of the United States is carrying out against Cuba a multi-dimensional, non-conventional warfare that has already lasted for almost seven decades now and has become ever more cruel and more ruthless during the last seven months,\u201d Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez told the UN on Tuesday, slamming the blockade\u2019s<\/a> \u201ccollective punishment\u201d of the population.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cPaying attention to this ruthless crime is also a responsibility of the UN,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He noted that the damage wrought by the embargo during the period of March 2025 through February 2026 amounted to a record $8bn, a seven percent increase over the same period one year earlier. He added that these figures however do not include the \u201cextreme impact\u201d of the fuel blockade the US imposed on Cuba in February.<\/p>\n Many of the world\u2019s regional blocs, including countries in Africa and the Caribbean, expressed their support for Cuba on Tuesday and condemned the US blockade.<\/p>\n Every year since 1992, the General Assembly has adopted by a large majority a non-binding resolution calling for the lifting of the blockade imposed on Cuba by the US.<\/p>\n Support weakened slightly last October, when 165 member states voted in favour \u2013 down from 187 the year before \u2013 and seven against, with a dozen abstentions.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s vote on whether to hold the debate signalled potential further erosion, with 136 in favour, nine against, and 30 abstentions \u2013 including traditional supporters Germany and Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no American blockade,\u201d US Ambassador Mike Waltz insisted from the podium. \u201cThe only embargo in Cuba is the guillotine the regime keeps over the heads of its people.\u201d<\/p>\n Referring to recent diplomatic talks between Havana and Washington, Rodriguez stressed that \u201cthere has not been any progress\u201d and would likely be none as long as US officials \u201ctreat Cuba as a vanquished or conquered adversary, as a colonial possession.\u201d<\/p>\n Some speakers, while deploring US policy toward Cuba, also pointed to Havana\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dire situation of the Cuban people is not only due to the embargo,\u201d said the European Union\u2019s ambassador to the UN, Stavros Lambrinidis.<\/p>\n The envoy highlighted the need for authorities to make \u201cmeaningful political and economic reforms\u201d in Cuba, including respect for human rights, while he condemned Havana\u2019s alignment with Moscow in Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera\u2019s Gabriel Elizondo said the contentious exchanges at the UN clearly show the deep tensions that remain between Havana and Washington.<\/p>\n