A/N - Because this is a ridiculously short chapter, I'll upload the next one today as well :)
16 September 2008, United Nations General Assembly
"I can't believe you!" America stormed, red in the face and this close to dissolving into a temper tantrum. "This is the seventeenth year that you've voted against the embargo! You and the rest of the world! What's wrong with you all? Do you actually support that evil, corrupted communist son of a-"
"Shut up, America," England cut him off icily. "Stop acting like a child. I'm sure it's been explained to you numerous times why no one agrees with your policies on Cuba. Or any of your foreign policies, really, when it comes down to it."
"You say that," America hissed, fists clenched so that his knuckles whitened under the pressure, "but your government goes to war with whoever the fuck I tell them to." England's eyes narrowed, but he kept his cool, not wanting to cause a scene in a building full of nations and their politicians.
"You need to differentiate between the people and the government," he said through gritted teeth, ignoring America's goading as best he could. "What you're doing – severely limiting income from trade and tourism from the United States to Cuba – is not helping the Cuban people or dissuading the Cuban government from doing the things it's doing. If anything, you're damaging the country more – increasing poverty, causing a lack of proper healthcare-"
"Don't you understand?" America demanded. "I thought you'd been around for long enough to know that sacrifices have to be made sometimes! We can't support a country that so blatantly disrespects human rights!"
"But the ironic thing, America," England said so quietly that America had to lean slightly closer to hear his words, "is that you aren't supporting the victims either. You're making their lives worse. Nobody's saying that the current political situation there is right, but when you've been trying the same method of stopping them for almost fifty years and it hasn't worked...well, don't you think it's time to try something new?"
They tried to stare each other down, their fury receding but not disappearing.
"You know," America said eventually, and his tone had frozen over the fiery passion of before, "the rest of the world can think what they damn well like, and they can call my policies wrong all they damn well like, but you know what, England? They can't do a fucking thing about it. I do what is right, and if no one else can see that, so be it. But the US of fucking A is the one who calls the shots in this world." And he turned and strode away, leaving England to regret for the umpteenth time how much he had spoilt America as a child.
Notes
This part is about the USA having imposed a trade embargo on Cuba since 1960 as a protest against human rights breaches made by the government (plus the fact that, you know, Cuba is Communist and the embargo was started during the Cold War...). US citizens are also not allowed to travel to Cuba (though I think this is being revised at the moment...it might have already been overturned. In 2009 it was still active, anyway). Trade laws have been relaxed in 2000 though, with it being legal now to sell some 'humanitarian' goods to Cuba.
At UN General Assemblies since 1992, every single country except the USA and literally only a couple of other countries have voted against the embargo since it's not really working. At all. In fact, the EU are so convinced that it's doing more harm to the Cuban population than actually helping them (as well as harming trade opportunities for Europe) that they've actually passed a law making it illegal for EU citizens to obey the US law enforcing the embargo.
