Cuba Alleges US Intimidation Tactics Ahead of UN Embargo Vote

Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, has accused the United States of employing threats, including tariffs and visa restrictions, against nations to sway their votes on an upcoming United Nations resolution. This resolution calls for the termination of the long-standing embargo imposed on the island. Annually, the UN General Assembly typically votes in favor of a nonbinding resolution urging an end to the US embargo, which has been in effect since the early 1960s and is considered the longest in modern history, contributing to economic hardship in Cuba. However, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez stated on Wednesday that the administration of US President Donald Trump is actively pressuring UN General Assembly members to vote against this year's resolution. He identified US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Washington's UN ambassador, Mike Waltz, as leading this campaign, which he alleged has been ongoing for months. Rodriguez described this as a "new and dangerous way of conducting multilateral diplomacy," asserting in a statement on X that it "reflects the impotence of those who know they are in the wrong and whose only remaining recourse is force." He further detailed that US officials have threatened to halt cooperation programs, deny visas to government officials and their families, and even support opposition parties in upcoming elections if countries do not alter their voting stance. Additionally, Rodriguez accused the US of encouraging some nations to abstain or skip the vote entirely if they were unwilling to vote against Cuba. Al Jazeera has sought comment from the US State Department and the US Mission to the UN but had not received a reply by the time of publication.

The allegations surface amidst heightened tensions between the two nations, preceding the resolution vote expected on October 27 or 28. The Trump administration has consistently blamed Cuba's government, rather than the embargo, for its economic struggles and has advocated for regime change. On Monday, Ambassador Waltz accused Cuban diplomats of harassing and intimidating participants at a US-organized panel on alleged human rights abuses in Cuba. Cuban UN Ambassador Ernesto Soberon Guzman and other representatives had confronted Waltz as he departed the event at UN headquarters in New York City. Speaking to reporters, Waltz stated that the Cuban government "propagates a lie through its annual resolution" each year, using "excuse after excuse to justify its oppression, to justify the misery of the Cuban people, and what we are doing here at the US Mission to the UN is exposing those lies." In a separate briefing the same day, Waltz acknowledged that Washington had been lobbying European countries to reconsider their support for the resolution. He referenced allegations from Ukraine that Cuban nationals fighting for Russia were not being paid, with funds allegedly diverted to the Cuban government. "Yes, we’ve asked many of our European colleagues: Given this evidence from the Ukrainian government, how can they continue to vote for this resolution that is a propaganda tool for the Cuban regime and that is directly affecting their national security?" Waltz questioned. The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly supported resolutions calling for an end to the US economic embargo on Cuba nearly every year since 1992. The embargo itself has persisted for over six decades. Since the beginning of 2026, the Trump administration has intensified its pressure on Cuba by blocking oil supplies and threatening tariffs on countries that provide fuel to the island, leading to more severe shortages of essential supplies and prolonged blackouts for Cubans.