The UN General Assembly on Wednesday again passed a resolution condemning the US economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba, despite a US push to peel away support. The vote was 130 in favour and 17 against, including the United States and Israel, with 25 abstentions.
Countries that abstained included Germany and Italy, which had previously backed the resolution. The assembly has condemned the embargo every year for more than three decades.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said after the vote that the US was "once again isolated in its attempt to continue strangling the Cuban people". Cuban officials accused Washington of threatening countries with tariffs, visa restrictions and other penalties if they voted for the resolution.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said he was satisfied that major economies such as South Korea and Germany had shifted position, noting a tripling of countries that changed their vote. He also said Richard Tur de la Concepcion, a first secretary at Cuba's UN mission, would be expelled for "assaulting an American diplomat", after a heated General Assembly debate on Tuesday turned into an apparent shoving match.
The embargo, in place for more than six decades, has been tightened by President Donald Trump's administration with further measures including an energy blockade, and is widely linked to worsening hardship on the island.