Tensions flared in the General Assembly today as the United States accused Cuba of corruption and repression, prompting a procedural intervention from Havana’s Foreign Minister amid widespread calls for Washington, D.C., to end the decades-long economic, commercial and financial embargo against the Caribbean nation.
The exchange came as Member States debated a draft resolution, titled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” (document A/81/L.5), ahead of a vote scheduled for tomorrow.
By the text, the Assembly would note the Secretary-General’s report (document A/81/76) on the matter and reiterate its call on States to refrain from imposing measures that restrict freedom of trade and navigation. The Assembly would also urge States applying such measures to repeal them. While the Assembly has traditionally demonstrated overwhelming support for ending the embargo against Cuba, recent voting patterns suggest a shift. Compared with 2024, last year saw a decline in support for the resolution, alongside an increase in votes against and abstentions. The trend comes as Washington, D.C., seeks to diminish support for the text.
During today’s debate, the United States representative reiterated calls for Member States to reject the draft text, accusing Havana of widespread corruption and repression. Citing financial records allegedly showing billions of dollars held by a Cuban military conglomerate, he asked why it was that ordinary Cubans face shortages while Government elites enjoy lavish lifestyles.
“Where did it all go?” he questioned, showing the Assembly photographs of luxury properties, yachts and expensive watches allegedly belonging to Cuban leaders and their family members. Havana is exploiting medical professionals working abroad and imprisoning political opponents, he continued, adding: “In Cuba, you can spend five years in prison for making art.”
Meeting Suspended
The exchange became heated when Cuba’s Foreign Minister Rodríguez Parrilla raised a point of order, invoking rule 71 of the Assembly’s rules of procedure and asking the Assembly President to call the United States speaker to order for remarks he said were offensive to Cuba and its people. Tensions escalated further as members of the Cuban delegation approached the podium seeking recognition to speak, with the representative of the United States demanding them to “back off”. The Assembly President suspended the meeting briefly before proceedings resumed.
“Every time you interrupt me”, responded the representative of the United States, “I’m just going to keep explaining how corrupt this regime is.” He insisted that “there is no blockade”, citing more than $876 million in United States exports to Cuba during the first eight months of 2026. “Do not hand Havana another propaganda victory”, he urged delegations. “Vote no on this resolution and stand with the Cuban people.”
Calls Mount to End Embargo
Among the delegations, an overwhelming number of Member States called for an end to the embargo, warning of its worsening humanitarian consequences. Singapore’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), cautioned of the “troubling picture of the worsening socioeconomic situation in Cuba”, underscoring shortages of more than 60 per cent of essential medicines and a decline in food production of over 50 per cent in five years. Echoing the alarm of other delegations, he said that nearly 100,000 surgeries remained pending nationwide, including more than 11,000 involving children.
Eritrea’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, also condemned the tightening of the embargo as “one of the most serious, prolonged, and systematic violations of international law”. Citing severe energy shortages, declining childhood cancer survival rates and restrictions on Cuban medical cooperation, he urged an end to unilateral measures. “The Cuban people have the right to build their own future, free from any kind of interference or pressure”, he stressed.
Similarly, Uganda’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, described the tightening of United States measures as “a form of collective punishment”. Prolonged power outages have disrupted hospitals, schools, water distribution and food preservation, he said, urging an end to the embargo against a country that “poses no threat to international peace and security”.
Namibia’s representative, speaking on behalf of the African Group, recalled Cuba’s historic solidarity with African countries. “The position of Africa on this question is settled at the highest level”, he stressed, underscoring that the African Union had renewed its call for the embargo’s removal for the seventeenth consecutive year. Uruguay’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, and recalling the Helms-Burton Act, criticized restrictions affecting trade, investment and financial transactions involving third countries, warning that they undermine Cuba’s prospects for sustainable development. “The urgency and necessity of lifting the blockade is ever clearer”, she said.