Puerto Rico: Trump administration seeks to eliminate the UN Decolonization Committee and criticizes Cuba’s role

Washington D.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday called for eliminating the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization and particularly criticized Cuba’s leadership around the resolution favoring Puerto Rico’s self-determination and independence, El Nuevo Día reported.

The position was defended by the U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN, Tammy Bruce, who questioned the functioning of the body —also known as the Committee of 24— and objected to Cuban involvement in the claim over the island’s political future.

The Committee has approved on 44 occasions a resolution recognizing Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination and independence, the Puerto Rican newspaper recalled. The resolution, traditionally presented by the Cuban delegation, urges the United States to advance a decolonization process on the Caribbean island.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean, has for decades sustained an open debate about its political status, with positions divided among statehood, independence and the Commonwealth. Washington’s stance marks a new clash with the multilateral body, whose mandate is to examine the situation of territories that have not yet achieved full self-government.

Photo: El Nuevo Día

Source: El Nuevo Día