Cuba accuses US of threatening countries ahead of UN embargo vote

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused the United States on 21 October of threatening to deny visas and impose trade and economic sanctions on UN member states that support Cuba in an upcoming vote on the American embargo. He also said the State Department was pressing countries to change their votes, sometimes with Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally involved, Reuters reported from his press conference in Havana.

The US has openly campaigned against the resolution. At a UN event on 19 October, Ambassador Mike Waltz urged diplomats to vote against it, abstain or leave the vote. Cuban dissidents at the event spoke about repression on the island. Waltz’s public appeal shows an effort to influence the vote, but does not establish the threats Rodríguez alleged. The State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on his accusation.

The General Assembly is scheduled to debate and vote on the resolution on 27 and 28 October. Last year it passed by 165 votes to seven, with 12 abstentions. The resolution calls for an end to the embargo, but is not legally binding and would not itself lift it.