Costa Rica voted against the annual United Nations resolution calling on the United States to lift its economic embargo on Cuba, the first time the country has opposed the measure since the General Assembly began voting on it in 1992.The resolution passed on Wednesday with 130 votes in favor, 17 against and 25 abstentions. General Assembly resolutions are not binding, and the embargo remains in place.
Costa Rica was the only Central American country to vote no. Nicaragua and Panama voted in favor, Honduras abstained, and Guatemala and El Salvador did not take part.The vote completes a gradual shift. Costa Rica abstained in 1992 and then backed the resolution for more than three decades. In October 2025 it abstained for the first time in that span, and in July 2026 it was one of nine countries to vote against a procedural motion to reopen debate on the embargo.
The change follows a sharp break with Havana. In March, under then-President Rodrigo Chaves, Costa Rica closed its embassy in Cuba and asked Cuban diplomats to leave, citing growing restrictions on freedoms and worsening living conditions on the island. The government later reaffirmed the split.
In September, then-Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar said a review of Costa Rica’s position would mean changing how the country votes on the resolution. He said the government views the hardship facing Cubans as imposed by their own government, argued that Latin American governments had been too lukewarm toward Havana, and ruled out restoring diplomatic ties until Cuba is free. Tovar made the remarks shortly after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.
Wednesday’s vote was the first on the resolution under President Laura Fernández, who took office in May. It came two weeks after Ana Elena Pinto became foreign minister on Oct. 15, during a month of turnover in the country’s diplomatic and trade leadership that included the dismissal of the trade minister. The Foreign Ministry has not published an explanation of the vote.
Costa Rica joined a bloc of opponents that grew from seven countries in 2025 to 17 this year. Alongside the United States and Israel, it included Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Hungary and Ukraine. Support for the resolution fell from 165 votes in 2025 and 187 in 2024. Germany and Italy, which had previously voted in favor, abstained.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz rejected the idea that the embargo is the only cause of Cuba’s economic problems, arguing that there is no blockade and pointing to Cuba’s trade with other countries and some US exports to the island. He said the number of countries changing their position had tripled and that he expected it to keep growing.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said the sanctions directly harm the Cuban people, mainly by restricting access to food, medicine and fuel, and said US pressure would not prevail over the facts. Cuban officials accused Washington of threatening countries with tariffs, visa restrictions and other penalties if they supported the resolution.
The General Assembly has passed versions of the resolution regularly since 1992. The votes carry political weight but have no power to lift the embargo.
