The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, reaffirmed on Thursday the commitment of Washington to the Cuban people and held the regime in Havana accountable for the island's economic failures, human rights violations, and its status as a threat to international security.
Speaking at a UN Member States briefing on the situation in Cuba, Waltz emphasized that the United States remains committed to providing direct humanitarian aid to the Cuban people, explicitly distinguishing this assistance from the political pressure that Washington exerts on the regime.
According to the U.S. Mission to the UN, Washington has provided over 585 million dollars in food, humanitarian aid, and medicine to Cuba.
The speech occurs during a severe humanitarian crisis on the island. In April 2026, the UN resident coordinator in Cuba warned that around 170 containers of aid worth 6.3 million dollars could not reach their beneficiaries due to a lack of fuel.
In May, UN experts accused the U.S. of endangering basic rights by restricting fuel to Cuba, a claim that Washington dismisses, arguing that its restrictions do not hinder humanitarian trade.
Waltz's stance is consistent with the maximum pressure policy that the Trump administration maintains towards the Cuban regime, which included the tightening of sanctions at the end of 2025 and the systematic rejection of the annual UN General Assembly resolution condemning the US embargo.
That resolution was approved for the 33rd consecutive time in October 2025, with 165 votes in favor, seven against, and 12 abstentions. On that occasion, Waltz described the vote as "political theater" and urged member states to stop "appeasing the regime" by voting in favor. He also responded to the Cuban delegate that the UN "is not an illegitimate communist legislature in Havana."
This Friday, the U.S. also made public its formal demands to the Cuban regime: to open the economy and release political prisoners, during a day of intense diplomatic activity surrounding the situation on the island.
Waltz was appointed by President Donald Trump as ambassador to the UN on May 1, 2025, following his departure as National Security Advisor, and from that position, he has maintained a confrontational stance against authoritarian regimes, including Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran.
"I spoke today about the United States' commitment to providing direct humanitarian aid to the Cuban people, while holding the corrupt communist regime in Havana accountable for its economic failures, human rights violations, and its status as a threat to international security," Waltz stated while posting the full video of his remarks on the official account of the U.S. Mission to the UN.
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