US still not ending Cuban embargo despite overwhelming UN vote

Cuba

For the 23rd year in a row, the United Nations has overwhelmingly voted to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba with a vote of 188 in favor and two against. The U.S., along with its ally Israel, has also once again opposed the move.

Despite decades-long calls by the international community to end what many call an ‘archaic Cold War-era policy’, the U.S. has refused to lift the 1960s embargo. The embargo was originally a response to Cuba’s nationalization of U.S. properties without compensation. Cuba says the embargo has since cost the country more than $1 trillion in damages.

The resolution is not binding in that it cannot force the U.S. to lift the embargo. However, it shows how isolated the U.S. stands in maintaining the status quo on sanctions. The tide may soon turn, however, as Washington responds to shifting attitudes among a new generation of Cuban Americans who increasingly see the embargo as more hurtful than helpful.

CCTV America’s Liling Tan reports.
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