CARIBBEAN DIVIDES ON CUBA EMBARGO AS TRINIDAD BREAKS RANKS AT UN

Trinidad and Tobago has cast a vote against a United Nations resolution seeking to end the US economic embargo on Cuba, positioning itself as the first Caribbean Community member state in decades to oppose the measure. The country sided with the United States, Israel and 15 others in voting no on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

The General Assembly passed the resolution with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstaining. The outcome marks a sharp reversal from 2025, when the same resolution received 165 votes in support, seven in opposition and 12 abstentions. This year's tally represents a loss of 35 supporting votes, while opposition more than doubled and abstentions more than doubled.

Caribbean nations split into four distinct camps on the issue. Seven countries backed the resolution: The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. Four others chose to abstain: Jamaica, Guyana, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Three nations took no part in the vote: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Saint Lucia.

Jamaica's abstention signals a policy shift. The country's Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith, stated that the decision reflected a change in approach. She pointed to earlier remarks by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who had raised concerns about humanitarian conditions in Cuba and advocated for talks between Washington and Havana.

The resolution itself is non-binding. Ending the embargo requires action through the US political and legal system, including Congress. The vote functions as a gauge of international sentiment rather than a tool to alter American policy directly.

The decline in support reflects an intensified diplomatic push by the United States to shift countries' positions. Several European nations voted differently this year compared with recent practice, signalling the scope of Washington's outreach.

For Caribbean governments, the embargo holds outsized importance because of geographic proximity to Cuba, established diplomatic ties and regional economic and security considerations. The fragmented voting pattern reveals how individual nations are reassessing their diplomatic priorities and balancing regional relationships against their own foreign policy goals.