US Embargo on Cuba Gets New UN Rebuff
HAVANA TIMES — The UN General Assembly will overwhelmingly adopt on Wednesday a new resolution calling on the United States to end its economic embargo on Cuba, which Washington maintains despite its new policy of openness towards the island.
The 193 member states of the United Nations will vote on a resolution promoted by the Cuban government on the “necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade” of the US.
This will be the 25th consecutive year that the UN General Assembly tells the United States to end its embargo but the resolution has no instruments to make it binding.
Last year, 191 countries supported the Cuban initiative, while only the United States and its partner Israel voting against.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, traveled to New York to represent his country at the session.
The Castro government complains that the embargo remains a reality despite the rapprochement between the two countries and the various measures taken by the Obama administration to relax certain aspects.
Although Obama can use his executive power to bring many changes, the trade embargo against Cuba can only be completely lifted with the authorization of Congress.
President Obama has argued on several occasions that “it is time” to lift the embargo, a move that in his opinion is “hurting the Cuban people” instead of helping.
However, after the latest measures announced this month by the White House to ease economic restrictions, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Paul Ryan, made clear that his party intends to maintain the embargo.
Although the Obama administration now supports ending the embargo, last year it voted against the resolution promoted by Cuba at the UN, saying that it did not represent the spirit of rapprochement between the two nations.
According to a report this year by the Cuban government, the embargo has cost the island US $753.7 billion since its implementation in 1962, taking into account the depreciation of the dollar against the value of gold.
There is a “bully” aspect in this issue. It’s the Castro dictatorship. The US embargo, as weak and feckless as it is, is one way to defeat the Castro bullies. You ignore them. That whole thing about being shamed in the eyes of the world? When does that take effect?
You make my point. The word blockade is antiquated. As far as the 191-0 vote is concerned, so when do the sanctions kick in? What, no sanctions? No, nothing? Just an international “finger-wagging”? I suggest that you Castro sycophants organize a boycott of all Justin Bieber songs. That should make us mean ole” freedom lovers come around. But wait, Justin Bieber is Canadian…..
“US navy vessels encircling the Cuban mainland.” Moses, this is 2016 and therefore we have advanced, ready or not, to the age of deadly missiles fired from airplanes, submarines, drones and silos. It was a couple of centuries ago when imperialist “navy vessels” encircled Cuba. Uh, that’s not necessary now to support your very weak arguments in this modern day-and-age. You are the zero in 191-to-0, I believe.
That’s precisely what I mean, Moses. I am fiercely pro-democracy. Your comment reflects the zero in 191-to-0 and indicates you prefer hiding behind the skirts of the world’s superpower, not to mention the U. S. Congress. Take away the bully aspect and, perhaps, both the U. S. and democracy would not be shamed in the eyes of the entire world by a Batistiano-driven Cuban policy.
Use a dictionary. It’s an embargo. There are no US navy vessels encircling the Cuban mainland.
Today’s vote, like every other vote, is a toothless tiger.
No, Brenda. The dysfunctional U. S. Congress is not democratic enough to overturn the embargo that the entire world — according to today’s UN vote — abhors. The 191-to-zero vote today even reveals that the United States and Israel voted to abstain, being too ashamed to vote to support it. So, forget a 535-member Congress in which one member can say to another, “Hey, you support my Cuban policy and I’ll support your Bridge to Nowhere and we both can get rich and stay here forever..” Polls show that the majority of Cuban-Americans EVEN IN THE LITTLE HAVANA SECTION OF MIAMI favor an end to the embargo but only anti-Castro zealots can get elected from the Cuban-American community. What does that say about the U. S. democracy since the flight of the primary Batista-Mafia leaders to U. S. soil after the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship on January 1, 1959? That is the question, I believe, that the 191-to-0 vote in the UN today demands an answer to.
It is a Blockade not an embargo that needs to end now!!