With the conviction that Cuba is not a threat, and the blockade is, the international community will stand at the United Nations General Assembly this 27 and 28 October against blackmail and arrogance to say no, for the thirty-fourth time, to the siege imposed by the United States.
Precisely this multilateral space is where Washington’s diplomatic isolation is traditionally expressed year after year in its stubborn determination to maintain and tighten this policy, and the opposition of peoples to a stance of coercion that, far from being limited to a bilateral matter between two states, also affects third countries, including US citizens.
On this occasion, the largest island of the Antilles has denounced the White House’s pressures and blackmail to condition the debate and threaten the position of those who will vote, in an attempt to impose a unilateral vision, described by Cuban diplomacy as ridiculous and fruitless and which will be defeated once again in the coming days.
These unprecedented efforts to get countries that have historically rejected the blockade for its violating character of international law to now change their vote, abstain or even absent themselves from the vote coincide with a particularly grave context, marked by the reinforcement of the collective punishment against the island’s population, including the energy siege and secondary sanctions on third parties that attempt operations and business with the Caribbean nation.
Precisely in a year where the grave effects of the blockade are impossible to hide, the US government has redoubled diplomatic efforts, including direct pressure from the Secretary of State, threats of sanctions and possible economic and political reprisals against countries around the world.
Last year, the vote on the Cuban resolution «Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba» — which was held for the thirty-third time — was adopted by 165 votes in favour, seven against and 12 abstentions.
