The United States Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, stated this Tuesday that the Cuban people will achieve freedom "one way or another" and expressed confidence that this will happen during Donald Trump's presidency, in remarks to Fox News following a tense confrontation with the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla at the United Nations General Assembly.
The clash occurred during the annual debate on the U.S. embargo against Cuba, where Waltz displayed an image of Fidel Castro wearing a Rolex watch to illustrate the regime's corruption and was repeatedly interrupted by the Cuban delegation, which raised at least three points of order.
Rodríguez got up from his seat and walked toward the podium while Waltz was speaking, which forced the President of the General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, to briefly suspend the session and ask the delegates to return to their seats.
Waltz did not yield to the interruptions. "This is the United Nations. It is not your communist dictatorship. You cannot silence me," he shot back at the Cuban chancellor while demanding that he step back with the phrases "This is not Havana" and "Step back."
In the subsequent interview with Fox News, the ambassador explained his position: "Every time they tried to interrupt me, I continued to point out the corruption of the regime: the fact that they send doctors abroad and keep the money, that is slave labor, the ongoing human rights abuses, the 800 political prisoners, and the fact that one way or another, the Cuban people will see freedom."
Waltz also denounced that the Cuban regime was not used to hearing uncomfortable truths. "They didn’t like hearing those hard truths. They are accustomed to propaganda in communist Havana, but under this administration, we are going to show the world the predation and failures of communism," he stated.
The incident was not limited to the plenary session. According to reports, a member of the Cuban delegation attempted to snatch the phone from J.P. Freire, the ambassador's spokesperson, while he was recording the confrontation. The Cuban official told him, "You are violating my personal space. This is not allowed." Waltz also accused a Cuban diplomat of pressuring UN staff to cut the microphones of the US delegation.
Rodríguez, for his part, posted a video of the altercation on social media portraying it as a defense of Cuba and labeled Waltz as a "liar" with an "indignant attitude." The White House responded to the incident with a message stating: "Not in the United States of America."
In his appearance on Fox News, Waltz also urged readers to review the report by Secretary of State Marco Rubio —published in July 2026— which accuses the Cuban regime of financing, training, and supporting subversive elements within U.S. territory. "They are training them, financing them, and supporting them to undermine our republic. And we will not tolerate it. That's enough," he concluded.
Filed under: