Trump to defend Cuba embargo at UN, reversing Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will defend America's decades-old economic embargo on Cuba in a United Nations vote this week, the State Department said today, in a reversal from the Obama administration that reflects deteriorating U.S.-Cuban relations.

Every year the U.N. votes on a resolution condemning the embargo, and for years the U.S. has predictably voted "no." But last year, under President Barack Obama, the U.S. abstained for the first time, as Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved forward with the historic warming of relations between the former Cold War foes.

A "no" vote from U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on Wednesday will mark a return to formal support for the embargo, which Obama had unsuccessfully urged Congress to end.

The vote comes as an ongoing crisis over U.S. government workers in Havana harmed by invisible attacks on their health has created a new rift between the U.S. and Cuba, putting the restoration of ties in jeopardy.

"The Trump administration policy gives greater emphasis to advancing human rights and democracy in Cuba, while maintaining engagement that advances U.S. interests," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding and unenforceable. But the annual exercise has given Cuba a global stage to demonstrate America's isolation on its Cuba policy.

The half-century-old U.S. commercial, economic and financial embargo on Cuba is extremely unpopular with other governments, and the yearly vote condemning it has reliably passed overwhelmingly. Voting "no" means the U.S. will once again be pitted against almost every other nation at the U.N. in the annual vote.