The vote resulted in 130 votes in favour, 17 against, and 25 abstentions. Last year, the resolution passed with 165 votes in favour, seven against, and 12 abstentions.
Support for the measure peaked at 191 votes in 2015 and 2017. The United States abstained in 2016 for the first time.
The resolution names the US 1996 Helms-Burton Act. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz argued against supporting the annual resolution condemning the U.S. economic embargo.
Waltz said, "There is no blockade." Waltz further stated, "You understand who you’re dealing with This is America. This is the United Nations. Back up."
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez called the ambassador a liar. Rodríguez said, "Cuba is not a threat; the blockade is."
Rodríguez claimed that infant mortality in Cuba had doubled due to the embargo. The Cuban Foreign Minister added, "What Cuba demands is to be left in peace."
US exports to Cuba totaled more than $876 million in the first eight months of 2026. The embargo cost Cuba more than $22.9 million since the debate opened on Tuesday.
The US military was used in January to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
