The UN General Assembly today approved, by a wide margin, the opening of a debate on the need to end the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba.

Despite attempts by the U.S. delegation to avoid the discussion, the debate received the support of 136 nations, with only nine votes against —including the U.S., Argentina, and Israel— and 30 abstentions.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez leads the Cuban delegation in this urgent session, where Havana will present a formal denunciation against Washington's aggressive actions, including the energy siege that has endangered essential services such as health, food, and transportation.

Cuba's denunciation comes amid intense U.S. diplomatic pressure to prevent the UN from discussing the effects of the over-60-year economic, commercial, and financial blockade. A State Department cable, signed by Secretary Marco Rubio and leaked to The Nation, urged U.S. ambassadors worldwide to prevent the UN from addressing the effects of the aggressive economic policy on the Cuban people.

Even with such pressure, the discussion received the green light, and there is already a long list of speakers requesting the floor, according to the session's proceedings.

During the debate, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated that the U.S. government "spreads the lie that the blockade is not directed against the Cuban people, but only against the Government." He also stressed that "the U.S. government imposes on sovereign States that they abandon their relationship with Cuba, not out of self-interest nor commercial disadvantages, but by the dictate of a foreign regime." He further asserted that Cuba "rejects the pretension that another country dictate the form of Government, the economic model, and the foreign relations that our nation must adopt."

Cuba is experiencing a deep energy crisis since mid-2024, aggravated since January by the oil blockade imposed by the U.S., which the Cuban government holds responsible for the deterioration of the energy situation. To the U.S.-imposed oil blockade, sanctions were added in May against any person or entity that supports the Cuban government or operates in key sectors such as energy, defense, finance, and mining.

The General Assembly annually debates this issue at Cuba's request and usually approves a text demanding the lifting of the U.S. embargo, although these resolutions are non-binding.