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un general assembly
UN Votes to Urge US to Lift Cuba Embargo for 33rd Time as Island Ravaged by Hurricane Melissa
"The accumulation of economic suffocation imposed from abroad for generations is equivalent to the destruction caused by war," said Venezuelan UN ambassador Samuel Moncada.
Oct 30, 2025
As Cuba was among the Caribbean nations hit by one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling on the US government to end its 65-year-old embargo on the country.
The final tally for the resolution was 165 nations voting in favor, with just seven nations opposed. Twelve nations abstained from voting.
This now marks the 33rd consecutive year that the UN General Assembly has voted in favor of a resolution to end the US embargo, which has economically isolated Cuba for decades even as the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, which had long been used to justify the blockade, ended more than three decades ago.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told the assembly ahead of the vote that the US blockade was "a policy of collective punishment" that "flagrantly, massively, and systematically violates the human rights of Cubans." Nonetheless, Rodriguez vowed that "Cuba will not surrender."
The International Peoples' Assembly, a coalition of 200 trade unions and social justice groups, noted that the vote was taking place as Hurricane Melissa was "worsening the economic, structural, and living conditions of the Cuban people"—suffering that is likely to be compounded by the embargo.
Representatives from several other Latin American nations made the case for ending the US embargo during speeches delivered at the UN on Wednesday.
"The accumulation of economic suffocation imposed from abroad for generations is equivalent to the destruction caused by war," said Venezuelan UN ambassador Samuel Moncada. "Because the blockade is an act of economic war, aimed at subduing an entire population through hunger, disease, and death. This is the truth the US seeks to hide when they call this crime simply a political measure."
Walton Alfonsi Webson, Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the UN, described Cuba as a "vital partner" in the region and demanded that the US "remove the embargo and let the Cuban people breathe."
Colombian UN ambassador Leonor Zalabata noted that Cuba has played a crucial role in helping uphold a 2016 peace treaty between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla organization that agreed to disarm as part of a ceasefire deal that ended decades of violent conflict.
"Cuba has been, and continues to be, a trusted partner in efforts to consolidate peace in Colombia and across the region," she said.
At the UN, Latin American and Caribbean leaders demanded an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba — calling it “an act of economic warfare.” Dozens of nations condemned Washington’s sanctions and urged the U.S. to let Cuba breathe.
Watch what they said.#Cuba #UN #Embargo #LetCubaLive pic.twitter.com/Qr4up0dc4i
— Belly of the Beast (@bellybeastcuba) October 29, 2025
Despite overwhelming support at the UN for lifting the embargo, the resolution's passage will have no real-world impact on US foreign policy since ending the decades-old blockade would require an act of US Congress.
The latest vote to lift the US embargo came as Hurricane Melissa was causing massive devastation in Cuba and countries throughout the Caribbean. According to CNN, the hurricane was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall in Cuba early Wednesday morning, and it forced at least 735,000 Cubans to evacuate their homes.
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Lindsey Graham Again Endorses 'Lawless' Third Term Run for Trump
The senator previously called for an illegal "Trump 2028" presidential run after the president's address to Congress in March.
Sep 24, 2025
International leaders and diplomats gasped and were seen shaking their heads as US President Donald Trump gave his address at the United Nations General Assembly—attacking the UN itself, migration, and climate action—but Sen. Lindsey Graham gave the speech an obsequious review on Fox News Tuesday night, going so far as to say Trump's performance made a compelling case for him to run for an illegal third term.
“Trump 2028," Graham (R-SC) told Sean Hannity. "I hope this never ends.”
He repeated Trump's baseless claim that he has ended seven "unendable" wars since taking office in January and praised the president for "standing up in the UN and telling the world the way it is."
"We don’t have to live this way," said Graham, before emphasizing, "I hope he runs again."
Graham's comments represented "Republicans just openly calling for unconstitutional, lawless behavior" from the president, said journalist Mehdi Hasan.
Trump is barred from running for a third term by the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution, which states: "No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice."
Graham has previously called for the president to run for a third term in 2028, saying on the social media platform X, "Trump 2028!" after praising Trump's address to Congress in March.
The comment was "a joke," Graham later said.
The president has also made comments about attempting to serve a third term, and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a resolution days after Trump was sworn in to amend the Constitution, aiming to clear the way for a 2028 presidential run.
Economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said the latest comments from Graham—who loudly denounced Trump at the beginning of his political career—suggested that "Trump must have some big-time dirt" on the senator.
"He used to have pretenses of being a serious person," said Baker.
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All Eyes on Gaza! All Hands on Deck!
Veterans call for urgent resistance to genocide!
Sep 18, 2025
The activist organization Veterans For Peace, with chapters in over 100 US cities and several countries, is calling for urgent action to end the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza, to defend the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, and to free a disabled veteran kidnapped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Israel’s deliberate and systematic genocide in Gaza is taking a critical turn to even greater death and destruction, with Israel’s full onslaught of Gaza City and the displacement (again) of millions. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been martyred. Children are starving to death while the whole world watches in horror.
Why won’t the United Nations or the countries of the world put a stop to the daily bombing and cruel starvation? In the United States, the Zionist lobby is strong and ensures bipartisan political support for Israel, no matter what it does. The US is a full partner in the genocide, as well as in the Israeli attacks on many neighboring countries. It provides the bombs, the planes, and military “intelligence,” and even joins in the bombing, as in Yemen and Iran. It also provides political cover for Israel in international forums. The US has repeatedly used its veto in the UN Security Council to block any actions to censure Israel and end the genocide. US companies continue to profit from doing “business as usual” with Israel.
In the absence of any meaningful action by the world’s governments, a global citizens’ movement has arisen and is currently gathering steam. The Global Sumud Flotilla, with people from 44 countries, is boldly sailing toward Gaza with the intention of breaking the Israeli naval siege and delivering humanitarian aid. Significantly, this humanitarian armada includes a Veterans’ Boat, with members of Veterans For Peace and About Face onboard.
This Thursday, September 18, is the deadline that the UN General Assembly has given to Israel to end the occupation of Gaza. Thousands of people will gather outside the United Nations in New York to demand concrete steps to isolate Israel and end the genocide.
Veterans For Peace (VFP) chapters and members are actively engaged with many such efforts at the local level–exposing complicit US companies, protesting at military bases, and reaching out to our sisters and brothers in the military, many of whom do not want to be complicit in genocide, or to take part in occupying US cities and terrorizing entire communities.
ICE Kidnaps Disabled Veteran and Denies Him Much Needed Medical Care
Zahid Chaudhry, president of the Rachel Corrie VFP Chapter in Olympia, Washington, has been kidnapped by ICE and is being denied the medical care he urgently needs. Without immediate treatment, he could permanently lose his peripheral vision. Please follow this link for more information and to sign a petition calling for GEO Group and the Northwest Detention Center to provide the necessary medical care immediately.
Veterans For Peace encourages all its members, friends, and allies to join in the urgent activities over the days and weeks ahead. See VFP Action Alert for details.
We ask everybody to go the extra mile at this critical moment. As VFP member Phil Tottenham wrote from the Veterans' Boat on the Gaza flotilla, “This is not a drill. We need all hands on deck!”
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