Cuban Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz said Cuba is “confident” Canada will continue opposing the U.S. embargo ahead of a UN vote next week.
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Cuban Ambassador to Canada Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz urged Ottawa to keep up its public opposition to the decades-long U.S. embargo, warning that Washington’s renewed pressure is harming Cubans as an upcoming United Nations vote approaches.
Malmierca said, “We are confident that Canada will stay with us, as they have done in the past,” and added that “The blockade and this intensification is, in practice, killing people.”
The United Nations is set to vote next week on a motion Cuba has submitted nearly every year since 1992, calling for an end to “the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.” Canada has backed the motion multiple times.
Malmierca said countries supporting Cuba have told Havana they are being warned that their access to American trade or aid could be reduced if they continue voting for the motion. He said Cuba is “not naive,” and said Canada is also under economic pressure from the Trump administration.
The ambassador framed the U.S. approach as collective punishment, saying Cuba is being targeted by a pressure campaign that he said is damaging health and education in Cuba. He also said Cuba wants a “normal relationship” with the United States and is “ready for dialogue.”
He pointed to a widening fuel and electricity crisis, saying Cuba produces only 40 per cent of the fuel it needs. Malmierca said the shortages have contributed to severe blackouts, and he tied the crisis to what Cuba describes as six decades of U.S. sanctions.
The evidence also cites a January “fuel blockade,” noting that U.S. pressure has included cutting off Venezuelan shipments and threatening tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba. It says Air Canada and other airlines cancelled flights to Cuba in February due to shortages of aviation fuel.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as referenced in the evidence, have said Cuba’s government engages in arbitrary arrests, tortures political prisoners, and limits media and political parties.
On the Canadian side, Global Affairs Canada said it is still considering its position on how it will vote next week. In a statement, spokesperson Thida Ith said, “As with all UN resolutions, Canada’s voting position is being considered in advance of the vote,” and said Canada continues to call on Cuba’s government to implement needed reforms and release all political prisoners.
The evidence says U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz urged countries to oppose the motion, characterizing it as “70 years of propaganda” intended to distract from corruption in Havana. Waltz said at a Monday event he hosted, “Do not let them abuse your vote for their oppression,” and “Do not give in to this lie.”
The evidence says Canada has pledged $13 million in humanitarian aid for Cubans through international organizations, rather than through the Cuban government. It also references past development support, including solar panels intended to make Cuba less reliant on foreign fuel.
It also notes that in July, Havana asked for a UN debate on the American embargo in the context of Cuba’s fuel crisis. The evidence says the debate was approved after a recorded vote, and Canada was among 30 countries that abstained on holding the debate.
Separately, the evidence references a briefing book prepared by Global Affairs for its deputy minister, based on a freedom-of-information request, describing meetings during a February 2023 visit to Havana with three Canadian firms about unpaid bills. The firms named in the evidence are the National Bank, mining firm Sherritt, and hotel chain Blue Diamond (now called Royalton).
The briefing book, as described in the evidence, says Ottawa’s goal was to reassure the firms it “has their back” while avoiding “unduly encouraging new investors and traders who risk not being paid.” It also says the document described the situation for small and medium-sized enterprises, and that it referenced Canadian firms facing “mounting payment arrears with Cuban buyers.”
In the evidence, Malmierca said Cuba is implementing 176 reform measures drawn from parliamentary and public consultations, describing them as creating more space for the private sector and foreign investment, and said Cuba is working “according to the rule of law.”
He also said a trade fair in Havana next month is expected to be largely virtual due to electricity shortages, and Cuba will hold an event in Toronto ahead of time to promote interest among Canadian entrepreneurs.
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