India among 130 countries calling for end to US embargo on Cuba at UN

India has joined 129 other countries in calling on the United States to lift its economic, trade and financial restrictions on Cuba. However, support for the resolution at the United Nations fell to its lowest level in three decades, as several countries that had backed it earlier chose to abstain.

The UN General Assembly passed the resolution on Wednesday with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions. The US and Israel voted against it, along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Morocco, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

The resolution has been presented almost every year since 1992. This year’s text also highlighted the impact of US restrictions on fuel supplies to Cuba, which Washington has imposed since January.

Cuba accuses US of pressuring countries

Cuba has accused the US of trying to persuade other countries to withdraw their support for the resolution.

“The world has once again spoken out overwhelmingly against the blockade, even despite the most blatant pressure and blackmail from the US to change the course of this vote,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a post on X on Wednesday. He later accused Washington of using “gangster-like coercion”.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also criticised the US, accusing it of trying to “determine the nation's destiny” and “seize” its wealth.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz rejected Cuba’s claims, saying the country’s problems were caused by its own government.

“The plight of the Cuban people is exclusively the fault of this corrupt communist regime,” Waltz said.

He also denied that the US had imposed a naval blockade around Cuba, saying its ports remained open and shipments from other countries continued to arrive.

Also Read: Iran in talks with mediators on 7-day plan; Araghchi says Tehran giving diplomacy a chance

Heated exchange between US and Cuban envoys

The vote came a day after a heated argument between Rodriguez and Waltz at the UN General Assembly. Rodriguez approached the US ambassador and shouted, “You are a liar!” while Waltz told him to back away.

The argument disrupted the session, forcing the chair to briefly suspend proceedings and ask both delegations to return to their seats.

During his speech against the resolution, Waltz displayed pictures of Cuban leaders, including Diaz-Canel, wearing luxury watches. Members of the Cuban delegation repeatedly struck their desks in protest.

Waltz also showed satellite images and described luxury homes, boats and holidays that he claimed were enjoyed by the Castro family and Cuban officials.