Miguel Díaz-Canel went out on Wednesday to celebrate on X what he described as a heroic performance by the Cuban delegation at the UN General Assembly, a day after Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla physically advanced toward the podium where U.S. Ambassador Michael Waltz was speaking, leading to a temporary suspension of the session and the subsequent expulsion of a Cuban diplomat from U.S. territory.
"Cuba will not retreat, especially not in the face of Yankee pressures and orders," wrote Díaz-Canel on his X account, congratulating Rodríguez, the permanent ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, and the rest of the delegation for their "firm stance against disrespect, arrogance, and imperial hubris."
In a second message, the Cuban leader stated that the UN is a "space of sovereign equality among States, where Cuba will always defend, against anyone, the rights granted to it by the UN Charter and regulations, along with the dignity of its people and its heroes."
What Díaz-Canel omitted in both messages is the concrete outcome of the episode on Tuesday: the president of the General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, had to briefly suspend the session and order Rodríguez to return to his seat; the three points of order presented by the Cuban delegation under Article 71 of the rules were rejected one by one; and a member of the Cuban mission, identified as Richard Tur de la Concepción, attempted to snatch the phone from the spokesperson for Waltz, J.P. Freire, while he was recording the confrontation.
Washington's response was immediate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the documents to expel Tur de la Concepción, and Waltz announced that the diplomat would be “on a flight to Havana” in less than 24 hours. The White House publicly supported the ambassador with the message, "Not in the United States of America."
From the podium, Waltz did not yield to the interruptions. "Mr. Chancellor, this is how it's going to work: every time you interrupt me, I'm going to continue explaining how corrupt this regime is, and I'll do it more slowly," he warned. He also presented to the Assembly photographs of the luxuries enjoyed by the Cuban elite: two Rolex watches attributed to Fidel Castro valued at $40,000, a 14,000 square meter mansion in Varadero with pools and a sauna, the private island Cayo Piedra, and a 50-meter yacht sailing through the Mediterranean.
Rodríguez, far from acknowledging the setback, posted a video of the altercation calling Waltz's speech a "media circus" and presenting the day as a diplomatic victory. The chancellor also responded to the U.S. ambassador: "Mr. Waltz, you are lying again. I wish you better performance in your future political positions."
The episode on Tuesday was not an isolated incident. On October 19, Cuban diplomats led by Soberón staged a repudiation act in the halls of the UN against Mike Waltz, activists, and former political prisoners who were participating in a forum organized by the U.S. mission. In July 2026, Rodríguez had already attempted to silence Waltz with points of order during a special session called at the request of Havana.
International support for the Cuban resolution against the embargo —which has been presented since 1992 and is non-binding— has been steadily declining: from 187 votes in 2024 to 165 in 2025, and to just 136 in the extraordinary session of July 2026. The final vote for this 34th edition was scheduled for this Wednesday, although the result had not been published by the time this note was finalized.
Filed under: