America Exposed for Lobbying Other Countries Against the UN General Assembly's Resolution on Cuba, Accusing Cuba of "Deploying Troops to Support Russia"

After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the U.S. government adopted a hostile policy toward Cuba and imposed an economic, financial blockade, and trade embargo on Cuba since 1962. Since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly has annually voted on a resolution calling for the U.S. to lift the blockade against Cuba, and the relevant resolution has consistently received overwhelming international support.

However, the U.S. has always acted contrary to the spirit of this non-binding UN General Assembly resolution, refusing to comply. Especially since the Trump administration took office, it has intensified its sanctions against Cuba and even reclassified it as a "state sponsor of terrorism," which has led to strong condemnation from Cuba.

The U.S.'s despicable actions have not stopped. According to a report by Reuters on October 5, internal U.S. State Department cables obtained by the outlet reveal that the Trump administration is mobilizing American diplomats to lobby allies against the UN General Assembly resolution calling for lifting the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

The report stated that as part of this lobbying effort, U.S. diplomats will disclose so-called "details" accusing the Cuban government of "actively supporting Russia's 'invasion' of Ukraine."

The U.S. claims that as many as 5,000 Cubans are collaborating with Russian forces in combat. As of the time of writing, officials from Cuba's permanent mission to the United Nations have not responded to requests for comment on this issue.

According to the report, a non-confidential cable dated October 2 has been sent to dozens of U.S. embassies abroad, instructing U.S. diplomats to urge host governments to oppose the aforementioned UN General Assembly resolution.

The cable pointed out that for years, the U.S. strategy to weaken the support for this resolution has mainly focused on emphasizing the "legitimacy" of the embargo measures, the U.S. policy of providing exemptions for food and medicine trade, and the so-called "human rights issues" in Cuba.

But the text acknowledges that these strategies have failed to influence the voting results. The cable then lists nearly 20 lobbying arguments, several of which instruct U.S. diplomatic officials to accuse "Cuba of wasting limited resources, depriving people of basic human rights, and posing a threat to international peace."

One argument claims that Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is actively supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. The cable states, "In addition to North Korea, Cuba is the largest foreign military force sending troops to Russia's 'aggression' operation, with an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 Cubans fighting in Ukraine."

According to Reuters, in a Saturday email statement, a U.S. State Department spokesperson refused to provide more details about the so-called "Cuban combatants," but stated that the U.S. is aware of the reports about "Cubans collaborating with Russian forces in Ukraine." The spokesperson used this to attack the Cuban regime, claiming that it "has failed to protect its own citizens, allowing them to be pawns in the Russia-Ukraine war."

In addition, the cable also turned the accusation back, criticizing the UN General Assembly resolution for "wrongly" attributing Cuba's problems to the U.S., while the U.S. believes that Cuba's problems are caused by its "own corruption and incompetence."

The U.S. State Department's statement also argued that Cuba is using this annual UN resolution as a tool to "portray itself as a victim," and that Cuba "should not receive support from the U.S.'s democratic allies."

The U.S. statement claimed, "The Trump administration will not stand idly by and will not support an illegal regime that harms our national security interests in the region."

The cable added that the goal of this lobbying campaign is to demonstrate the Trump administration's opposition stance, thereby significantly reducing the number of votes in favor of the resolution.

The cable stated, "Voting against is the ideal option, but abstaining or not attending, not voting is also helpful. The U.S. needs the support of its allies and like-minded partners in this action."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845190823110663/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.