UN General Assembly Demands End to Cuba Embargo

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution for the 33rd consecutive year calling for an end to the U.S. economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba, with the vote 165 in favor, 7 against and 12 abstentions. The margin narrowed from last year’s 187-2 result as countries including Argentina, Ukraine and Hungary joined the United States and Israel in opposing the measure. The vote came as Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba and amid reports of an American military buildup in the region. Washington dismissed the resolution as 'political theater,' while Cuban officials denounced the embargo as collective punishment, said the U.S. pressured other states ahead of the vote and rejected allegations that Cubans are fighting in Ukraine. The non-binding U.N. action cannot lift the Cold War-era embargo, which only the U.S. Congress has the authority to end. The embargo, in place since 1962, remains a major point of contention in U.S.-Cuba relations.