Cuba at the UN: fewer votes against US embargo, US expels diplomat
130 countries voted against the US embargo, 35 fewer than last year. After a verbal clash in the General Assembly, Washington expelled a Cuban diplomat.
Archive image · Photo: Basil D Soufi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The UN General Assembly again adopted a resolution against the US trade embargo on Cuba, but with markedly less support. 130 countries voted in favour – 35 fewer than last year, Reuters reported, according to a roundup by Just Security. Seventeen countries voted against and 25 abstained.
After an extraordinary verbal clash in the General Assembly, the United States expelled the first secretary of Cuba's UN mission, Richard Tur de la Concepción, the Wall Street Journal reported. US Ambassador Mike Waltz posted a video of Tuesday's confrontation and accused the diplomat of trying to intimidate UN staff. The State Department said he was "not welcome in the United States".
Relations between Washington and Havana remain tense. General Assembly resolutions are not binding but are seen as a barometer of international attitudes towards US policy on the island.