East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta was among the world leaders to address the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Ramos-Horta called for an end to the US embargo on Cuba.

East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta: “As a friend of the US, I humbly appeal to the next US administration and congress to lift the embargo on Cuba. Such a gesture would be an honorable one, and my admiration for the US would only increase. As it is, as I witnessed the impact of US sanctions on a small developing country and its refusal to provide assistance unconditionally to Cuba following the devastation caused by cyclones Gustav and Ike, my heart bleeds in sorrow, and my admiration for the US seriously diminishes.”