The standoff culminates decades of Cuban diplomatic opposition at the United Nations, where the annual resolution against the blockade has passed overwhelmingly for 33 consecutive years, including last year, by 165 votes to 7. This year's vote is the first to address Trump's January 2026 executive order that imposes tariffs on any country that supplies fuel to Cuba, a move Havana calls a "xenophobic" energy embargo. Rodriguez told reporters that the embargo has cost Cuba $178.7 billion over six decades, with damages peaking at $8.083 billion in the past year alone. He accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of personally leading an "unprecedented" campaign of threats and coercion to pressure sovereign nations to abstain. The confrontation in the chamber made it clear that Cuba will continue to oppose the deadly embargo, even when Washington tries to starve it into submission.

The standoff culminates decades of Cuban diplomatic opposition at the United Nations, where the annual resolution against the blockade has passed overwhelmingly for 33 consecutive years, including last year, by 165 votes to 7. This year's vote is the first to address Trump's January 2026 executive order that imposes tariffs on any country that supplies fuel to Cuba, a move Havana calls a "xenophobic" energy embargo. Rodriguez told reporters that the embargo has cost Cuba $178.7 billion over six decades, with damages peaking at $8.083 billion in the past year alone. He accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of personally leading an "unprecedented" campaign of threats and coercion to pressure sovereign nations to abstain. The confrontation in the chamber made it clear that Cuba will continue to oppose the deadly embargo, even when Washington tries to starve it into submission.