In a passionate address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, delivered a powerful plea for the United States to normalize relations with Cuba, calling the decades-long estrangement a “hemispheric rupture” that benefits no one. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, maintaining strong bilateral ties with both the US and Cuba, finds itself in a unique position to understand the complexities of the situation. “My country has excellent bilateral relations with the USA and Cuba; it pains us greatly to see our friends and neighbours in such a condition of extreme dissonance,” the Prime Minister stated. Highlighting the willingness of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to facilitate dialogue, the Caribbean Prime Minister offered the region’s services as a mediator. The US embargo against Cuba, initially imposed in 1960 and later strengthened, has been a defining feature of the two nations’ relationship for over six decades.