Germany could change its vote on the U.S. embargo against Cuba at the United Nations for the first time in 24 years, after the government of Friedrich Merz acknowledged that it has yet to define its position ahead of the vote scheduled for October 28.
The uncertainty was reflected in an official response from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, revealed on October 14 by the newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
In a written communication sent on October 7 to Deputy Sören Pellmann, State Secretary Géza Andreas von Geyr assured that the Executive's position on the resolution demanding an end to the U.S. embargo "has not yet been decided."
The statement opens the possibility for a significant diplomatic shift: since 2002, Germany has continuously voted in favor of the resolution presented annually by Cuba at the UN General Assembly.
In October 2025, Berlin once again supported it along with 164 other countries.
However, the German government has shown signs of a possible change in its stance regarding Cuba.
In July 2026, Germany abstained during a vote to authorize an extraordinary debate on the embargo against Cuba at the UN. A month later, its Foreign Ministry stated that tariff threats and economic sanctions do not constitute a "blockade" in the sense of international law.
The Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, had also toughened his rhetoric in June when he described Cuba as a “regime of injustice” and stated that the main condition for improving the lives of Cubans was for the country to be better governed.
The possibility that Berlin might change its vote sparked criticism within the Bundestag.
Deputy Sören Pellmann from the left-wing party Die Linke accused Merz's government of having completely lost its "foreign policy compass."
"Like in the war in Ukraine, the Merz-Klingbeil cabinet is betting on aggression and escalation. Such a step would definitely discredit Germany in the Global South," he stated to the German press.
The Cuban resolution lost support in 2025
The German uncertainty comes after the Cuban regime recorded a significant reduction in international support for its resolution against the embargo.
In 2024, the initiative received 187 favorable votes. However, in October 2025, support dropped to 165 countries, with seven votes against and 12 abstentions.
Hungary then became the first member of the European Union to vote against, while Poland, the Czech Republic, and the three Baltic countries chose to abstain.
In July 2026, a different vote aimed at authorizing an extraordinary debate on Cuba gathered 136 votes in favor, nine against, and 30 abstentions.
The government of Donald Trump has also intensified its efforts to reduce support for the Cuban resolution.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, addressed the matter with the Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, while the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, accused Washington of "pressuring and blackmailing" other governments to change their votes.
From the Cuban opposition, a coalition of activists and organizations, including José Daniel Ferrer and Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, promoted a letter addressed to democratic governments urging them to vote against or abstain.
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