21-10-2026
As the United Nations General Assembly prepares to vote on the legality of USA’s 64-year long embargo on Cuba later this month (October 27-28), the Cuba Friendship Society urges the New Zealand government to do more to show solidarity with Cuba, as it faces what experts have called a silent genocide, due to the intensifying siege and pressure from the United States. An effective way for Aotearoa New Zealand to support Cuba would be to arrange milk powder shipments for Cuban children.
For the last 33 years, New Zealand has been voting alongside the global majority, to end the USA’s illegal embargo on Cuba. We hope that this year, New Zealand can do more to cement the solidarity between the two nations.
For decades, New Zealand was Cuba’s largest and most reliable source of whole milk powder. However, today Cuba is no longer able to import from New Zealand, because of the intensification of the US embargo on Cuba, which has effectively made it impossible for Cuba to move its money internationally.
Despite the success of Cuba’s UNGA resolution against the embargo every year since its first introduction in 1992, the embargo continues, and has over recent years, reached genocidal scale.
Aotearoa New Zealand Cuba Society co-chair Dr Josephine Varghese highlighted the impact of Trump’s total oil embargo on the situation in Cuba, and the need for New Zealand to act fast:
“Trump’s imposition of a total oil blockade has made the humanitarian crisis in Cuba extremely severe. Only one shipment of oil has arrived on the island since late December 2025. In New Zealand, ordinary citizens have faced difficulties with rising fuel costs since the beginning of the Iran war. So it is not difficult for kiwis to imagine what no oil for nearly a year would mean to an island nation with double the population size”.
Lack of oil amounts to serious disruptions to public transport, hospital and ambulance services, power supply, surgeries, schools, universities and other essential services. Cuba’s infant mortality rate, which was among the lowest in the world, has recently doubled.
“It means hospitals cannot operate incubators, families cannot store food, children cannot study at night, and doctors are forced to delay life-saving surgeries and treatments”, Varghese added.
The Cuba Friendship Society appreciates New Zealand’s consistent position on the embargo at the UN, which is in line with our stated commitment to uphold international law. We also appreciate Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ statement in May 2026, which assured New Zealand’s commitment to uphold Cuban sovereignty.
We therefore urge the New Zealand government to go further to materialise this support for Cuba. As a major dairy producer in the world, one way of supporting Cuba would be to send milk powder to support Cuban children. To this end, the Aotearoa Cuba Friendship Society plans to launch a ‘Milk powder for Cuban children’ campaign soon.
How New Zealanders Can Help
Vanushi Walters (Labour): Vanushi.Walters@parliament.govt.nz
Teanau Tuiono (Greens): Teanau.Tuiono@parliament.govt.nz
Tim van de Molen (National): Tim.vandeMolenmp@parliament.govt.nz
Media enquiries: chairperson@cubafriendship.org.nz