The Cuban regime's chancellor, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, demanded on Wednesday from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly the immediate expulsion of the opposition figure Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Secretary General of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, who was attending the session as a guest of the U.S. delegation.
The incident occurred on the second day of the annual debate regarding the United States embargo on Cuba— a day when the vote on the resolution also took place— and represents the climax of a escalation of hostilities by the regime against Cuban activists at the UN that has been ongoing for weeks.
In his speech, Rodríguez described Gutiérrez-Boronat as a "terrorist" and a "criminal," stated that he ranks 52nd on the Cuban list of individuals wanted internationally for acts of terrorism, and accused him of diverting U.S. government funds for personal use.
"I ask you, Mr. President, to request that the United Nations Secretariat check the status and confirm that this individual is present in the gallery, and I ask that he be removed immediately. It is an offense, Mr. President, to all the victims of terrorism," declared Rodríguez before the General Assembly.
Also present at the event was José Daniel Ferrer, founder of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and former political prisoner, who attended alongside Gutiérrez-Boronat as part of the Cuban opposition's presence at the UN headquarters.
Gutiérrez-Boronat responded promptly on Facebook with a phrase that captured his stance on the attack: "The chancellor of the dictatorship asks for my expulsion from the United Nations, how proud. Cuba will be free."
It's not the first time the regime has attacked him in that setting. On October 19, Cuban diplomats led by Ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán staged a protest in the corridors of the UN against Gutiérrez-Boronat, Ferrer, and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, shouting "Terrorists!" and "Get out of the UN!".
Days later, both Rodríguez and Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly reiterated the accusations. Gutiérrez-Boronat then responded: "I am neither a terrorist nor a scammer. I am not a terrorist because I did not come to power by planting bombs in cinemas, parks, nightclubs, or by hijacking civilian planes, as was done on July 26."
On Tuesday, the first day of the debate, Rodríguez had already been involved in another incident as he physically advanced towards the podium where U.S. Ambassador Michael Waltz was speaking, which forced the Assembly President, Khalilur Rahman, to briefly suspend the session. In that same context, the U.S. ordered the expulsion of the first secretary of the Cuban delegation Richard Tur de la Concepción, who was accused of trying to snatch the phone from Waltz’s spokesperson while filming the confrontation; Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the documentation and the Cuban diplomat was required to leave the country within 24 hours.
International support for the Cuban resolution against the embargo has steadily declined: from 187 votes in 2024 to 165 in October 2025, and only 136 in the extraordinary session of July 2026, the lowest level in over a decade. More than 554 Cuban activists and organizations, including Ferrer and Gutiérrez-Boronat, issued a letter urging democratic governments to vote against or abstain this Wednesday.
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