The United Nations General Assembly has condemned the U.S. embargo on Cuba for the 33rd consecutive year. On Wednesday, 165 countries voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution calling on the U.S. to lift the embargo, while seven nations, including the U.S., Ukraine and Israel, voted against it. This is Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla: “The blockade is collective punishment, as an act of genocide, which flagrantly, massively and systematically violates the human rights of Cubans. It doesn’t distinguish between social sectors or economic actors. … If the United States government had the smallest concern with helping the Cuban people as they say, suspend or make humanitarian exceptions to the blockade, given the damage it will cause, just like Hurricane Melissa is causing.”

Wednesday’s vote came as Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba, causing major damage but no deaths, after more than 700,000 people evacuated. Later in the broadcast, we’ll get an update from reporter Liz Oliva Fernández, who’s on the ground in Santiago de Cuba.