On Wednesday, June 23, the U.N. General Assembly voted on a resolution condemning the United States’ economic, commercial, and financial embargo (or blockade) of Cuba. The resolution passed overwhelmingly – 184 to 2 – with only the US and Israel voting against. This is the 29 th time since 1992 that nearly all countries voted to condemn the policy and declare it illegal under international law. Only in one year, 2016, did the Obama administration abstain from voting, reflecting what has been called “the Obama thaw” of improved relations with the island nation. A Bay Area caravan protests the 71-year-old blockade To punish Cuba soon after its revolution, the US imposed the embargo in 1960. Under the Trump administration, despite the global pandemic, the blockade was tightened even further. Trump imposed 243 new measures, leading to painful shortages of food, fuel, and some medications.