In Brief
- Washington’s Praise: US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau publicly thanked Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar after Trinidad and Tobago voted alongside the US against lifting the economic embargo on Cuba.
- Standing for Democracy: Persad-Bissessar welcomed the praise on X and defended her administration’s stance during Divali celebrations, calling Cuba’s government a ‘military dictatorship’ and insisting Cubans deserve free and fair elections.
- A 33-Year Policy Reversal: T&T’s ‘Against’ vote on 28 October broke more than three decades of uninterrupted support for lifting the US embargo, placing Port of Spain at odds with traditional CARICOM allies.
- Global Backing Drops: Following an intense US lobbying campaign led by UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, global support for the non-binding UN resolution fell to its lowest level in two decades, passing with 130 votes in favour compared to 165 last year.
By Prior Beharry
The United States has publicly commended Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s administration following Trinidad and Tobago’s historic decision to break with decades of foreign policy and vote against lifting the US economic embargo on Cuba.
Writing on his X account on Friday, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau praised Port of Spain’s new diplomatic posture at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
‘Prime Minister, the US recognizes and thanks your government for voting in favor of a democratic transition in Cuba at the UN this year. We’re proud to stand alongside Trinidad & Tobago and other democracies in the region in calling out the repressive Cuban regime. How can countries vote in favor of a regime that has not allowed its own people to vote for almost 68 YEARS?! May God bless you and the people of your lovely country, which I was proud to visit a few months ago,’ Landau wrote.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar replied on X: ‘Thank you US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago stands for democracy, freedom, human dignity and the right of every citizen, including the people of Cuba, to freely determine their political future.’
The diplomatic exchange follows a major policy shift on 28 October, when the UNGA voted for the 34th consecutive year to adopt a non-binding resolution calling for an end to the decades-long US economic, commercial, and financial embargo against Havana. Having voted in favour of lifting the embargo every year from 1993 to 2025, Trinidad and Tobago reversed course to vote ‘Against’ the resolution alongside the United States, Israel, Argentina, Ukraine, Hungary, and 11 other nations.
The move placed Port of Spain sharply at odds with its Caribbean Community (CARICOM) counterparts; while seven regional nations maintained their support for Cuba, others—including Jamaica, Guyana, and Haiti—chose to abstain. Overall, following an aggressive lobbying campaign by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, global backing for Havana fell to its weakest level in 20 years, with 130 countries voting in favour (down from 165 in 2025), 17 voting against (up from seven), and 25 abstaining (up from 12).
Speaking at the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs’ Divali celebrations for diplomats on Thursday, Persad-Bissessar stood firmly by her government’s vote, stating that while her country supports ordinary Cuban citizens, its new posture targets political leaders who live in luxury while the public suffers.
‘I stand for freedom. I stand for democracy. And in Cuba, the people deserve a democratic government,’ the Prime Minister told the gathering of diplomats.
She added, ‘They are suffering. We feel the human suffering of the Cuban people. But we cannot stand by and do nothing or say nothing to support a military dictatorship in Cuba.’
Drawing parallels between the Festival of Lights and her administration’s foreign policy, Persad-Bissessar argued that Trinidad and Tobago could not enjoy its own democratic freedoms while ignoring the plight of its neighbours.
‘Just as the light of Divali guides us towards a brighter future, our commitment to freedom and democratic values must guide us to advocate for the right of every individual, at home and abroad, to live in dignity, in hope and freedom,’ she said.
Persad-Bissessar continued, ‘We cannot want to live in light at home and remain silent when others live in the shadows of oppression and exploitation. As I’ve said before, we cannot demand democracy and free and fair elections for ourselves and remain silent when those freedoms are denied for neighboring citizens in neighboring countries.’
Pushing back against critics who condemned the government for abandoning Trinidad and Tobago’s traditional diplomatic stance, the Prime Minister insisted that maintaining the status quo was no longer tenable.
‘We cannot stand up and talk here and say leave Cuba alone. Twenty-nine plus years, it’s all been the same. It has not changed,’ Persad-Bissessar said.
‘They are our neighbours, they are our friends. We cannot, as well, continue to do the same as has been done before. Some of our critics are saying, “Oh, Trinidad always had, always had.” So when will it ever end? And it must end one day. They should have a democracy and the freedoms that we have and enjoy here in Trinidad and Tobago.’
The 2026 UN vote took place amid a severe energy crisis and worsening humanitarian strain across Cuba. Following political transitions in Venezuela, Washington has intensified pressure on Havana by enacting secondary sanctions and threatening 30 per cent tariffs against third-party nations that ship fuel to the island. Addressing the UN, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the US embargo as ‘collective punishment,’ stating that the sanctions had cost Cuba more than US$8 billion in a single year.
