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 25^th 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.