Addressing the assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the embargo an "act of arrogance" and said it has cost the Cuban economy tens-of-billions of dollars over the years and deprived children of needed medical care.

VOA: standard.2009.10.28

The embargo was tightened in 1963 after the Cuban Missile Crisis and was reinforced in October 1992 by the Cuban Democracy Act and in 1996 by the Cuban Liberty and Democracy Solidarity Act (known as the Helms-Burton Act).

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Implications of Cuba's leadership change