UN Votes 130-17 Against US Cuba Embargo as Support Slips for First Time in Years

UN Votes 130-17 Against US Cuba Embargo as Support Slips for First Time in Years

The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the United States' economic embargo against Cuba for the 34th year running, but support for the annual resolution fell sharply after an intense American lobbying campaign. The resolution passed on Wednesday by 130 votes to 17, with 25 abstentions, compared with 165-7 and 12 abstentions last year.

Germany, Italy and Latvia were among the Western countries that abstained for the first time in the resolution's 34-year history, while the United States and Israel were among those voting against it. US Ambassador Mike Waltz welcomed the shift, saying a tripling of countries had changed position and the trend would continue. The resolutions are not legally binding, but they are seen as a measure of world opinion.

The vote came amid ugly scenes at UN headquarters. Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez clashed on the General Assembly floor on Tuesday, and Waltz later said a Cuban diplomat would be expelled from the US. Cuba is suffering severe fuel shortages and power cuts after Washington threatened tariffs on any country selling oil to the island, a pressure campaign Havana calls an act of collective punishment.

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