Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla published a video on X this Tuesday, in which he interrupted the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Michael Waltz, during the annual debate on the embargo against Cuba, presenting it as a defense of Cuban dignity against what he called "outrageous lies."
The episode, one of the most chaotic in the recent history of the General Assembly, occurred when Rodríguez and other members of the Cuban delegation stood up from their seats and physically advanced toward the podium where Waltz was speaking. The President of the Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, was forced to briefly suspend the session and instructed the chancellor: "Please return to your seat."
The Cuban delegation made use of procedural motions at least three times, based on Article 71 of the regulations, which prohibits using that mechanism to debate the substantive content of a speech. On all occasions, the presidency rejected the objections and returned the floor to Waltz.
From the microphone, Rodríguez called Waltz a liar: “Mr. Waltz, you are lying again. I wish you better performance in your future political positions. In the National Security Council and here at the United Nations, your performance is very poor. Get better informed.”
The incident was not limited to the assembly. A member of the Cuban delegation attempted to seize the phone from J.P. Freire, spokesperson for Waltz, while he was recording the confrontation from the room.
In his speech, Waltz launched an unprecedented offensive before the world's ambassadors: he displayed photographs of Rolex watches attributed to Fidel Castro valued at $40,000 —equivalent, according to his words, to 55 years of average Cuban salary—, images of the Castro family's properties, and information about the private island Cayo Piedra.
He also referenced a study from the Miami Herald that revealed that GAESA, the military conglomerate of the regime, accumulated 18 billion dollars in profits and 14 billion in cash in secret accounts.
Waltz concluded with a direct call to his colleagues: "These thugs are asking for your vote. Don’t give Havana another propaganda victory. Do not vote for the mistreatment of the Cuban people."
After the scandal, Rodríguez posted on X the video of the confrontation, framing it as a diplomatic victory. In his message, he accused the U.S. government of launching “a new desperate attempt to justify the economic aggression against Cuba” and described Waltz's speech as a “media circus.”
He made no mention of the disruptive nature of the maneuver or the order from the presidency of the Assembly.
This episode is the most serious of a sustained escalation throughout 2026: in July, Rodríguez already attempted to silence the American representative Jeffrey Bartos with two motions of order; and on October 19, Cuban diplomats staged a repudiation act in the halls of the UN against former political prisoners José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara during the "Cuba Libre" forum.
The vote on the annual resolution —non-binding and presented since 1992— was scheduled for this Wednesday. In 2025, it received 165 votes in favor, the lowest result since 2010, compared to 187 in 2024.
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