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The United States sent a strong message to the Cuban regime this Friday, just before the annual vote at the United Nations General Assembly on the resolution against the U.S. embargo, an event that Havana has historically turned into a platform for political propaganda.
“Voting with the Cuban regime means supporting its repression against religious leaders, the Ladies in White, UNPACU, the San Isidro Movement, and all those Cubans brave enough to raise their voices for the cause of freedom,” published on social media X by the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Department of State.
The message, reiterated by Under Secretary Brian A. Nichols, marks a shift in Washington's strategy, which aims to reduce international support for Havana in the vote scheduled for October 29.
Meanwhile, the Cuban regime has reactivated its diplomatic and media machinery to condemn the embargo, insisting that the sanctions cause “millions in losses” and “cumulative damages” to the national economy. However, none of the figures presented have been independently verified.
According to its usual narrative, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) claims that the embargo has resulted in losses of over 7.5 billion dollars in the past year and a total damage of more than 170 billion since its implementation, figures that lack technical or academic support.
The United States, for its part, has insisted that the embargo does not prevent the sale of food, medicine, or humanitarian equipment to Cuba, and it points out that the country maintains a regular trade flow with the island under humanitarian licenses, which even increased by 16% in 2024.
According to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2024, U.S. exports to Cuba exceeded 370 million dollars, primarily in frozen chicken, corn, wheat, and soy. Washington asserts that the true cause of the Cuban crisis lies in its political and economic model, not in the sanctions.
The diplomatic approach of the U.S. administration seeks to isolate the Cuban regime on the international stage and emphasize its alliance with Russia in the war against Ukraine.
A filtered cable from Reuters indicates that the State Department has instructed its embassies to encourage allied governments to abstain or vote against the Cuban resolution.
In the document, Washington asserts that Cuba "can no longer present itself as a victim," but rather acts as a accomplice of Moscow by allowing the recruitment of hundreds of Cubans who are fighting alongside Russian troops, a practice denounced as human trafficking in the latest Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) 2025.
The goal, according to analysts consulted by CiberCuba, is not to overturn the outcome — which is expected to once again show a majority of votes in favor of Havana — but rather to erode the moral legitimacy of a regime that portrays itself as a victim of the embargo while maintaining alliances with dictatorships and repressing its population.
Diplomatic sources indicate that, although the outcome in the UN will be symbolically favorable to Cuba, the margin of support may decrease if some European or Latin American countries choose to abstain in order to avoid aligning with an ally of Vladimir Putin.
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