The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, accused a Latin American government of acting under the orders of the United States to pressure other countries in the region to change their position in the upcoming United Nations vote on the embargo against Cuba.
During a press conference held in Havana, the foreign minister denounced an alleged diplomatic operation aimed at undermining the international support that the Cuban resolution against the embargo traditionally receives, with discussion and voting scheduled for October 27 and 28 in the General Assembly.
Rodríguez Parrilla affirmed that a government in Latin America is engaging in maneuvers to persuade other states to abandon their usual positions, and he accused it of acting against its own national interests to please Washington.
However, when a journalist directly asked which nation it was, the Foreign Minister refused to identify it.
There is a Latin American country that, in service, under instructions, under pressure from the government of the United States, surely against the will of its people, in a conspiratorial and opaque manner, is trying to sell to others its own betrayal, he stated.
The accusation piqued the interest of the international press. A journalist from the AFP agency specifically asked him which country he was referring to. Rodríguez avoided naming it and opted for a new disparagement:
"I do not want to stop discussing a lackey when I would rather refer to the one who commands, the one who instructs, the true author, the true executioner who imposes collective punishment," he responded.
In this way, the head of Cuban diplomacy made a public accusation of political subordination and treason against a Latin American government without providing any details to identify it or verify the maneuvers he attributed to it.
The diplomatic battle for votes at the United Nations
The statements come just a few days before a new vote by the General Assembly on the resolution presented annually by Cuba to demand the end of the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States.
For over three decades, Havana has secured broad majorities in favor of its resolution, although these votes are non-binding and do not compel Washington to modify its legislation.
Rodríguez Parrilla stated that the United States is developing a diplomatic offensive to diminish that support and pressure governments that have traditionally voted in favor of Cuba.
According to their account, Washington aims for some states to change the direction of their votes or modify the content of their statements during the debate.
The regime's chancellor also linked this strategy to the meeting on October 19 at the United Nations organized by the American ambassador Mike Waltz, where Cuban political prisoners like José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara participated to denounce the repression of the Havana regime.
Rodríguez Parrilla described that meeting as a "farce" and maintained that its purpose was to divert international attention from the U.S. sanctions and discredit the Cuban regime on the eve of the vote.
The U.S. initiative, however, brought another issue to light: the allegations of political imprisonments, torture, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in Cuba, raised by the participants of the forum.
An increasingly diminished international backing
The allegations made by Rodríguez Parrilla come at a time when the Cuban regime is facing decreased international support for its resolution.
In October 2024, the text received 187 favorable votes, while in the annual vote of 2025 that number dropped to 165, with seven countries voting against and 12 abstentions. In an extraordinary session held in July 2026, support fell to 136 votes, with nine against and 30 abstentions.
Among the most significant diplomatic changes is that of Argentina, which under the government of Javier Milei voted against the resolution in 2025, after traditionally maintaining a favorable position towards Havana.
On October 14, CiberCuba reported on Rodríguez Parrilla's accusations against Marco Rubio after the State Department confirmed a phone conversation between the Secretary of State and the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele to discuss shared priorities at the United Nations, including the Cuban issue.
However, the chancellor did not clarify whether the Latin American country he is now accusing is one of the governments that have already changed their vote, one that is considering doing so, or a third that is supposedly trying to influence other states.
It also did not identify the countries that would have received those pressures nor presented evidence of the diplomatic operation it denounced.
The identity of the government that Rodríguez Parrilla referred to as a "lackey" remains a mystery, less than a week before a vote in which Havana seeks to regain support while Washington attempts to diminish it.
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