Top Cuban diplomat accuses US of threatening countries that vote with Cuba at UN

Cuban ​Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the United States ​on Wednesday of threatening member states of ‌the United ​Nations with sanctions should they side with Cuba in next week's annual UN vote on a resolution calling for an end to a US embargo ‌on the island. "The US State Department is exerting unprecedented pressure — at times in a personal and brazen manner by the secretary of state himself — to get UN member states to change their votes," Rodriguez said.

Tensions between the ‌two nations are soaring ahead of the vote on the non-binding resolution, which has passed in favor of ‌Cuba in the UN General Assembly by wide margins every year since 1992. Rodriguez told reporters at a press conference in Havana that US officials had threatened to deny visas and impose trade and economic sanctions on UN members that side with Cuba at ⁠the United Nations.

“These ​methods of pressure include ⁠the threat of imposing punitive tariffs, the suspension of cooperation programs..., support for forces opposed to the governments, the threat of encouraging the overthrow ⁠of those governments or interfering in their electoral processes, and the threat of politically destabilizing those countries,” Rodriguez said. The US ​State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.

US Ambassador to the ⁠UN Mike Waltz earlier this week called on countries to vote against the resolution supporting Cuba, calling it "an excuse to justify oppression, to ⁠justify ​the misery of the Cuban people." The UN vote to condemn the US blockade is expected to take place on October 27-28, officials said.

The US has imposed a trade embargo on Cuba for more than ⁠60 years. The administration of US President Donald Trump, however, has ramped up pressure on Cuba since January, imposing a ⁠fuel blockade on the island ⁠and stiff sanctions against a swath of Cuban officials and state entities.

The UN vote against the US blockade can carry political weight, but only the US Congress ‌can lift the ‌Cold War-era embargo.