Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of putting pressure on heads of state and government before the upcoming vote in the UN General Assembly to end US sanctions against Cuba.
“The Secretary of the State Department is nervous and anxious about a new defeat at the UN and is putting pressure and resorting to blackmail“, Rodriguez wrote on the social network “Ex“. According to him, the goal is for countries to change their positions when voting on the resolution to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade against the island. The claims are made by the Cuban government and are not supported by publicly presented evidence of specific cases of pressure.
Vote scheduled for October 28
The UN General Assembly will discuss the resolution on October 27 and 28, and the vote is scheduled for October 28. Cuba has submitted the document annually since 1992.
The vote traditionally shows broad international support for the Cuban position, although General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding. In 2025, the document was adopted with 165 votes “in favor“, 7 “against“ and 12 abstentions. A year earlier, the result was 187 votes “in favor“, 2 “against“ and 1 abstention. The United States rejects the definition of a “blockade“ and describes the measures as an embargo.
Washington seeks support for its position
Rodriguez's accusation came a day after a phone call between Marco Rubio and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. According to a report cited by “CubaNet“, Rubio said that the Cuban government would not undertake reforms until it believed it had international support. The Secretary of State called on El Salvador to join the United States and its partners in pushing for common priorities at the United Nations.
The administration of President Donald Trump is considering new restrictions on Cuban representatives planning to travel to the United Nations for the October vote. This was reported by the “Associated Press“, citing American officials and an internal document, according to which a final decision on the measures has not yet been made.
The next key date is October 27, when the discussion of the resolution begins. The following day, member states will vote on the text, and the result will show whether the pressure that Havana is talking about has changed the traditional distribution of votes.
Sources: cubaheadlines.com, apnews.com, s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com