Cuba: UN condemns US embargo for 34th consecutive year

The UN General Assembly condemned the US economic embargo against Cuba for the 34th consecutive year in a non-binding resolution reflecting global opinion. The vote was 130 in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions, down from more than 160 votes in favor the previous year. For the first time in 34 years, Germany, Italy and Latvia abstained, following a Washington campaign to influence the outcome. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla accused the United States of seeking to provoke a humanitarian crisis and use it as a weapon.