On more than 30 occasions, the United Nations Assembly has discussed the blockade against Cuba, which costs the island 5 billion dollars annually, according to some estimates. Every year the resolution is proposed and the whole world, through the vote of the absolute majority of the member countries of the United Nations General Assembly, has condemned the imperialist attitude of the United States towards Cuba.
Why is it normalized that one country can block/embargo/complicate/whatever-you-want-to-it another country to the point of severely affecting the lives of millions of people … for what? because one country disagrees with the politics of another country?
If countries were able to do that, there would be no trade anywhere in the world.
Yet it’s been completely normalized for the past six decades between the US and Cuba.
The US military is in 75% of the countries on earth but it’s definitely not the largest empire the world has ever seen * wink wink *
Just wait until China blockades Taiwan and uses the USAs blockade of Cuba as precedent
I’d rather russia had just embargoed Ukraine, for the 2014 “revolution” instead of invading. And that China embargo Taiwan instead of invading if that ever comes to pass. Don’t you? It’s not even a siege as some people are portraying it, there are no secondary sanctions.
That said, I’d rather the embargo were lifted and relations were normalized, maybe Cuba would turn into a sort of Vietnam, but that would take more than just the US lifting restrictions, it would take reform on Cuba’s part as well. Even China agrees that Cuba needs market reforms e.g. https://www.diariolasamericas.com/america-latina/china-rompe-acuerdos-comerciales-cuba-ya-no-es-el-sugar-daddy-del-regimen-n5365604 and won’t invest in a dying economy unless they change, same as the US.
Unless the missile crisis is ongoing, or nationalization of Chiquita is recent, or Cuba was behind the JFK assassination, how the heck can we justify this?
There’s a ton of US money that would goto Cuba and benefit people in both countries.
But who cares if they do market reform? Sure that will affect their economic success but that’s on them. It’s not worth sanctions
Because the international order is based on economic and military might, not any sort of higher ideal or codified rules.
So jungle rules then … ooga booga … just with better vocabulary.
Well… Yeah. Who do you think would enforce any “rules”? And how would they?
If that same thought or sentiment grows around the world … then why have a UN if its just treated as a play toy by the ones with the biggest guns?
ALL of international politics is ruled by those with the biggest guns! There is no mommy or daddy to make the kids play nicely.
The UN is an attempt to allow for international discussions, collaboration and some sense of “law”. It is and always will be flawed, but that doesn’t mean its useless.
Palestine and plenty of other countries, too. Mostly the ones that want a different economic system, afaict.
Welcome to politics?
It isn’t that it’s normalized. It is simply that no one can do anything about it. So, they voice their disagreement.
Why won’t the rest of the world just ignore the blockade together?
When I was a kid, sweden did (IDK if they still do) so we had Cuba Cola there :-)
Because nuclear bombs are horrifying.
The USA is going to bomb anybody who trades with Cuba?
The USA shoots kids in schools. Do you really think we won’t bomb anyone who trades with Cuba?
In some way, I can respect that absolute devotion that leads to complete disregard of even your own children.
Maybe not bombs, America’s style is more using the CIA to destabilize elections and arm fringe militia groups to cripple other countries. It’s really cool and good that I’m forced to support that every time I go to work and pay taxes.
The United Nations is a corrupt organization the majority of whose members try to improve their station by taking bribes to vote whichever way Russia, China, the Arabs or Iran pay them to. It’s been a fucking joke for decades.
Legalize the import of Cuban cigars, and I will personally bring Cuba back into an age of prosperity.
I quit smoking but I’d gladly have a puff.
The thing I love about Cubans is the smell. The US is spoiled with a wonderful selection of great Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars that for all intents and purposes beat out Cubans. But Cuban cigars have a very particular smell that I can’t get over.
I’ve enjoyed really nice Dominican cigars, especially the chocolate and I forget what you can the greens but they are fabulous.
is this that kind of vote the us can always overturn for some reason?
There are two tiers of UN. There’s the “I’m not a colonizer that’s willing to nuke people” tier, where the strongest outcome is “sternly worded email” and then there’s the UN Security Council tier where you’re on get an absolute veto power that cannot be questioned.
Russia waiting to put some nukes in Cuba
If Russia wanted to do that, they could.
Don’t you think that might cause some kind of a crisis
Yes, which is why they won’t.
My point is they already tried it, the Cuban Missile Crisis is probably the closest the world has come to nuclear war
And my point is that they won’t try it again, because the Cuban Missile Crisis is probably the closest the world has come to nuclear war.
Yes, so Russia can’t do it
Blockading Cuba has never made sense. If communism is an inferior failed system that can’t compete with the freedom of Capitalism (cue heavenly sunbeams and angel choirs) why not leave Cuba alone and let nature take its course?
This is why you get conspiracy theories that it was Cuba that assassinated President Kennedy: how else can we justify such extended sanctions when all the participants are long gone
Because the US knows communism is not an inferior system. But to run the argument it never works they need to embargo it to then say “see it doesnt work”.
There was a somewhat understandable reason initially; when the embargo was first started, it was because Cuba allowed the UUSR to use it as a forward base for missiles so they could reach the mainland US, which, understandably, the US wasn’t very happy about
But ever since the fall of the USSR it’s been absurd
