The United States voted against a U.N. resolution on June 23 that overwhelmingly condemned the American economic embargo of Cuba for the 29th year, maintaining the Trump administration’s opposition and refusing to return to the Obama administration’s 2016 abstention. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly was 184 countries supporting the condemnation, the United States and Israel opposing it, and Brazil, Colombia and Ukraine abstaining. Four countries did not vote — Central African Republic, Myanmar, Moldova and Somalia. Before the vote, the U.S. Mission’s political coordinator, Rodney Hunter, told the assembly that the Biden administration voted “no” because the United States believes sanctions are key to advancing democracy and human rights which “remain at the core of our policy efforts toward Cuba”. “Sanctions are a legitimate way to achieve foreign policy, national security, and other national and international objectives,” Mr. Hunter said, “and are one set of tools in our broader effort toward Cuba to advance democracy, promote respect for human rights, and help the Cuban people exercise the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” “We therefore oppose this resolution,” he said.