The White House responded this Tuesday with a strong message after members of the Cuban delegation physically advanced toward the podium of the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, during the annual debate on the embargo against Cuba: “Not in the United States of America”, the official presidential account posted on X, accompanying the phrase with an illustration of the confrontation and tagging Waltz directly.
The incident occurred while the ambassador was presenting to the delegates of the world evidence of corruption and luxury among the Cuban elite: Fidel Castro's Rolex watches valued at $40,000, a beach residence of the Castro family in Varadero spanning 14,000 square meters, the private island Cayo Piedra, and a 50-meter yacht sailing through the Mediterranean.
The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and the other members of the Cuban delegation stood up from their seats and approached the podium, forcing the president of the General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, to briefly suspend the session and order, "Please return to your seat."
Waltz did not back down. "This person needs to step away from the podium. They will not intimidate me or the United States of America, as they try to intimidate political prisoners. And I am the representative of the United States of America," he responded loudly in front of the room.
The ambassador went further and directly warned the Cuban foreign minister: "Mr. Foreign Minister, this is how this is going to go: every time you interrupt me, I will continue explaining just how corrupt this regime is, and I will do it more slowly."
Rodríguez retorted by calling Waltz a "liar" and throwing a sarcastic remark his way: "Mr. Waltz, you are lying again. I wish you better performance in your future political positions."
The confrontation was not limited to the stage. According to a video released by the U.S. mission, a member of the Cuban delegation attempted to snatch the phone from J.P. Freire, spokesperson for Waltz, while he was recording the scene from the audience, telling him, "You're invading my personal space. This is not allowed."
Hours later, Waltz posted on X a second video in which he expanded on his accusations: "This is happening in a room of a free country, with cameras, with ambassadors, with diplomats. Imagine what happens if you dare to speak under the iron fist of this regime. Imagine what happens when no one is watching. Recently, we released political prisoners here and this delegation of supposed diplomats tried to intimidate them, film them, harass them. If this happens here, imagine what happens there."
The episode this Tuesday is not an isolated incident. In mid-October, Cuban diplomats staged an act of repudiation in the halls of the UN against former political prisoners José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, shouting "terrorists" and "out of the UN" while filming them. In July, Rodríguez had already tried to silence the American representative Jeffrey Bartos with two motions for order, which were rejected on both occasions.
Waltz concluded his address before the Assembly with a direct appeal to the member countries: "Colleagues, these bullies are asking for your vote. Do not give Havana another propaganda victory. Do not vote for the mistreatment of the Cuban people."
The final voting for the 34th edition of the Cuban resolution against the embargo was scheduled for this Wednesday, in a context where international support for Havana has decreased from 187 votes in 2024 to 136 in the extraordinary session of July 2026, the lowest level in over a decade.
Filed under: