UN General Assembly calls for end to US embargo on Cuba
The resolution drew support from 130 member states as Havana residents described shortages and hoped for improved living conditions.
The United Nations General Assembly has urged the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba, adopting a resolution backed by 130 member states. It was the 34th consecutive time the assembly had approved such a call.
Cuban residents said they hoped Washington would respond to international appeals. In Havana, many stores along the city's busiest shopping street have shut, while residents face electricity outages, shortages of water and medicine, and rising prices.
Havana resident Eddy Batista described an extended interruption to his electricity supply and questioned whether people struggling with shortages could meet their basic needs. Gladys Gamboa Ribalta said her son needed care after a stroke and that finding money for medicine was a daily problem. Another resident, Noemí Paez Castillo, expressed hope that an end to the embargo would bring an easier life.
The United States introduced the embargo in 1960, following the Cuban revolution a year earlier, and expanded it in 1962 to cover economic activity, commerce and finance. The Helms-Burton Act of March 1996 extended its reach to foreign businesses trading with Cuba. President Donald Trump's administration has increased pressure on the country.
