The United States Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, outlined three specific demands to the Cuban regime on Wednesday as a condition for any rapprochement and the end of the embargo: release all political prisoners, legalize civil society, and schedule free and fair elections. He stated these in a post on X accompanied by a video recorded during the annual debate on the embargo.
Waltz explicitly referred to the voices of two Cuban dissidents present at the UN: José Daniel Ferrer, founder of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and former political prisoner, and Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Secretary General of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance.
"It is very clear what the Cuban regime must do. Don't take it from me — listen to what brave Cuban dissidents José Daniel Ferrer and Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat are saying. The regime simply needs to release all political prisoners, legalize civil society, and schedule free and fair elections," the ambassador wrote.
In the video, Gutiérrez-Boronat questioned a journalist by citing the Law of Freedom and Democratic Solidarity for Cuba — the Helms-Burton Act, enacted in 1996 — stating: "The release of all political prisoners, the legalization of civil society, and, thirdly, a timeline for holding free and multiparty elections."
Waltz then took the floor before the journalist who framed the embargo as the central issue: "Which of these do you have a problem with? No, you are asking very biased questions. The premise of your question is that the embargo is the problem. Which of those three conditions does anyone oppose? Free elections? The release of political prisoners? Which one, exactly?"
The most unfavorable vote for Havana in over three decades
The backdrop was the resolution A/81/L.5 on the embargo, which resulted in 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions: the worst outcome for Havana since it began presenting this initiative in 1992.
In 2024, it had garnered 187 favorable votes and just two against; in 2025, 165 in favor and seven against. In this 34th edition, Cuba lost 35 favorable votes compared to the previous year, and the votes against increased from seven to 17.
Among the countries that voted against are, in addition to the U.S. and Israel, Argentina, Austria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Ukraine, among others. The resolution is not legally binding and does not alter the current embargo.
A day marked by diplomatic tension
The statements came after a day of high tension. On Tuesday, the first secretary of the Cuban mission, Richard Tur de la Concepción, was expelled from the United States after being accused of trying to snatch the phone from Waltz spokesperson J. P. Freire and slapping him. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the expulsion documentation.
From the podium, Chancellor Bruno Rodríguez demanded the expulsion of Gutiérrez-Boronat — who was present as a guest of the U.S. delegation — whom he referred to as a "terrorist" and a "criminal." The President of the General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, ordered Rodríguez to return to his seat and rejected three Cuban motions for order while Waltz was speaking at the main podium.
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