UN: Against the Blockade of Cuba Once Again

United Nations, Oct 23. -After the recent stream of condemnation issued here by dozens of world leaders regarding the U.S. blockade of Cuba, the General Assembly is preparing on Saturday to reaffirm that opposition with an overwhelming vote.

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For 19 years in a row, and again on Tuesday, the forum will decide on the blockade imposed 50 years ago that has cost Cuba US$751.363 billion, a conservative figure based on the depreciation of the dollar against gold.

The vote will take place in the plenary session of the highest UN body, devoted to the subject "The Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Embargo Imposed by the United States of America against Cuba."

In 2009, 187 countries spoke out against the U.S. measure, the highest recorded vote on the matter since 1991, with only three countries voting against the anti-blockade resolution (USA, Israel and Palau) and two abstentions (Marshall Island and Micronesia)

The vote comes less than a month after the Assembly's general session, where heads of state and government and foreign ministers from 30 countries denounced the U.S. blockade against Cuba.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said this siege is not just a bilateral issue between the island and its northern neighbor because the extraterritorial application of U.S. laws and the persecution of companies and nationals from third countries affect the sovereignty of many other states.

The current U.S. government has continued implementing the embargo against Cuba with full force, despite the 18 UN resolutions passed, which will now be 19. (Prensa Latina)