Trinidad and Tobago voted against UN resolution on Cuba embargo

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on October 28, calling for an end to the United States trade embargo against Cuba by a vote of 130 to 17, with 25 abstentions.

The tally marked a decline in overall support compared to the previous year’s vote, which recorded 165 votes in favor, seven against, and 12 abstentions. Trinidad and Tobago voted against the measure, making it the first Caribbean Community country in decades to oppose the annual resolution. Meanwhile, Jamaica, Guyana, and Haiti abstained.

Shifting Diplomatic Positions Across the Caribbean

Jamaica’s decision to abstain followed months of consideration and a broader parliamentary review. Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith explained that Prime Minister Andrew Holness had previously raised concerns at a CARICOM summit regarding the worsening humanitarian situation in Cuba and its impact on the wider region. The Jamaican government introduced a parliamentary motion on Cuba’s economic and humanitarian situation to Parliament on Tuesday, choosing to focus on domestic reform and greater cooperation rather than supporting the resolution simpliciter.

Johnson Smith stated that Jamaica withheld its support because perpetually backing the resolution year after year brings no positive change, but rather coincides with escalating suffering and a deepening humanitarian crisis, meaning such a course ultimately fails to help the Cuban people. Other CARICOM nations, including The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname, voted in favor, while Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Lucia were absent.

US Lobbies Nations to Oppose Cuban Government

The vote followed an intensive diplomatic campaign led by the United States. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz spearheaded efforts to lobby international capitals, drawing connections between Cubans fighting for Russia in Ukraine and urging foreign missions to consider human rights issues. The U.S. also hosted a press conference with the CEO of Freedom House to challenge the Cuban government’s record.

Despite these pressures, numerous nations maintained their opposition to the embargo. Việt Nam’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Nguyễn Hải Lưu, addressed the 81st session of the General Assembly to reaffirm Hanoi’s support for the immediate, complete and unconditional lifting of U.S. economic, trade and financial embargo measures. In a similar vein, Guo Jiakun, speaking for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, pointed out that the 64-year-long unilateral economic sanctions and illegal embargo enforced by Washington against Cuba have brought boundless hardship to the Cuban population.

Several European governments also adopted a middle ground. Italy announced it abstained alongside Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Croatia. Italy stated that while it maintains solidarity with the Cuban people and provides humanitarian aid, structural political, economic, social and judicial reforms and the release of political prisoners by the Cuban Government are urgently needed alongside the removal of external economic barriers.