The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution demanding an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, with 165 votes in favor, seven against, and 12 abstentions. This vote marks the worst diplomatic support for Cuba in the history of these annual resolutions. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described it as a victory for his country.
The resolution, titled 'The need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba,' was promoted by the Cuban government and voted on October 30, 2025. It received 165 votes in favor, seven against—United States, Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, North Macedonia, Hungary, and Ukraine—and 12 abstentions from countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Moldova, Romania, and Poland.
Since 1992, the General Assembly has voted on this resolution almost annually, with overwhelmingly favorable results for Cuba. In 2016, it reached peak consensus with 191 votes in favor and none against, coinciding with the rapprochement between Barack Obama and Raúl Castro. In 2024, it obtained 187 votes in favor. However, this year represents a significant loss of support, as it is the first time more than four countries have voted against, and abstentions have not been this high since 1998.
During the preliminary debate, there was a tense exchange between the Cuban and U.S. delegations. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez interrupted U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz, accusing him of 'lying in a rude manner' and expressing himself with 'rudeness and arrogance' inappropriate for the forum. Waltz replied that the Cuban regime 'oppresses its own people' and uses the country's resources to maintain the 'elite status' of its leaders, calling the Havana government an 'illegitimate communist legislature.'
In total, the UN has adopted 33 such resolutions, with more symbolic than practical impact. This vote occurs amid an unprecedented economic and social crisis in Cuba, with chronic shortages, blackouts, collapse of health services, and mass migration exodus. Solidarity groups in Spain, such as the State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MESC), comprising 65 organizations, applauded the resolution from Madrid.
The shift in diplomatic trends reflects a distancing by several Latin American and European countries that traditionally supported Havana, eroding Cuba's official narrative as a victim of the blockade.