For the 33rd consecutive year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is set to deliberate on Cuba’s annual resolution calling for an end to the decades-old US blockade against the island nation.
The debate and vote are scheduled for October 28–29, 2025. Addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India on Thursday, Cuba’s Ambassador to India, Juan Carlos Marsan Aguilera, voiced confidence that India — described as a “long-standing friend of Cuba” — would once again back the resolution.
“Last year, 183 countries supported our resolution. Only the United States and Israel voted against it, while the United Arab Emirates abstained,” Ambassador Aguilera noted.
Introducing the resolution, Aguilera condemned the 65-year-old US economic, commercial, and financial blockade as a policy of “political coercion and extraterritorial reach” that remains the “principal obstacle to Cuba’s economic and social development.”
The text of the resolution cites US policy statements that, according to Cuba, reveal an intent to “cut off external income sources” and “disrupt Cuba’s trade, tourism, medical cooperation, and remittance channels.” It also accuses Washington of attempting to “deter foreign investment and interfere in Cuba’s international relations.”
Tracing the blockade’s roots to the aftermath of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Aguilera said it was a form of retaliation for the island’s assertion of sovereignty. “Before 1959, nearly 70% of Cuba’s land was owned by US corporations,” he said.
The resolution also criticizes Cuba’s continued presence on Washington’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism,” calling the designation “baseless and politically driven.” It recalls that Cuba was delisted shortly before former US President Joe Biden left office, only for the Trump administration to reinstate it.
Emphasizing the human cost, the document details the blockade’s impact on food security, healthcare, and energy access. Many global banks, it says, have halted transactions with Cuba out of fear of US sanctions.
The resolution quantifies the economic toll of the blockade as follows:
- Two months of losses equal USD 1.6 billion, the amount needed to provide Cuba’s annual family food rations.
- Four months of losses equal USD 2.85 billion, enough to replace buses in the national transport fleet.
- Sixteen days of losses equal USD 339 million, sufficient to meet Cuba’s annual essential medicine needs.
Ambassador Aguilera said Cuba deeply values the “near-unanimous support” the resolution has received from the global community for over three decades. “We trust that India and the vast majority of nations will once again vote in favour of our resolution, reaffirming their commitment to justice and international solidarity,” he said.
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