With October 2013 marking 51 years since the Cuban missile crisis, the UN General Assembly again pronounced itself overwhelmingly against the US embargo on Cuba. In the General Assembly, 188 countries voted to condemn the US-imposed sanctions.
“The US policy against Cuba is suffering from an absolute international isolation and discredit and lacks every ethical or legal ground,” Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said.
Several international envoys also strongly denounced Washington’s policy.
China’s Deputy UN Ambassador Wang Min told the General Assembly debate, “The call of the international community is getting louder and louder, demanding that the US government change its policy toward Cuba.”
Meanwhile, Bolivia’s UN Ambassador Sacha Llorenty Solis stated that the embargo is “sullying the history of mankind.”
European countries also oppose the embargo against Cuba since US legislation punishes foreign companies, including the European ones, that trade with Cuba.
Havana and Washington have been at odds since the Cuban revolution. Fidel Castro led the revolution that toppled the regime of Fulgencio Batista, the brutal American-backed dictator who ruled Cuba from 1952-1959. He had strong ties to the American mafia underworld and insured that America’s extensive business interests on the island were protected while he was in power. The US imposed sanction measures against Cuba after Batista was overthrown in 1959 and placed an official embargo against Cuba in 1962.
Parrilla further said that Havana has lost over $1.1 trillion dollars because of the embargo, adding that the blockade has prevented his country from gaining access to vital heart and anti-AIDS medication for children.
Speaking at the General Assembly in 2012, the Cuban foreign minister said that after the 2008 US election, President Barack Obama had promised a new beginning with Cuba, but “the reality of the last four years has been characterized by a persistent tightening of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade.”