The UN General Assembly usually runs on careful diplomatic language. That didn't last long on Tuesday.
During the annual debate on the US economic embargo against Cuba, US Ambassador Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla got into what AP called "a stunning shouting match" on the floor of the General Assembly. The President of the General Assembly briefly suspended the session, according to UN News.
How It Started
According to the Miami Herald, things blew up about two and a half minutes into Waltz's speech. He opened by quoting Ronald Reagan's warnings to the Cuban people about a privileged communist elite. The Herald reported that the Cuban delegation began shouting and banging on their desks.
"I hope everyone, Mr. President, is listening to the delegation right now," Waltz said, according to the Herald. "Imagine what happens when someone asks these questions in Havana, not in a room full of ambassadors and cameras."
The Herald reported that Rodríguez used points of order, a procedural tool, to interrupt several times, accusing Waltz of "lying grossly" and "offending the dignity of the people and government" of Cuba.
"Back Up"
As Rodríguez approached the podium, Waltz shouted, "Back up, ambassador. Back away. This isn't Havana," according to the Herald.
"I'm suspending the meeting," the presiding officer said. Waltz kept going: "Do you understand who you're dealing with? This is America. Back up."
ABC News reported that he also declared, "This is America, this is the United Nations, this isn't your communist dictatorship."
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After the suspension, ABC reported, the assembly president let Rodríguez raise a point of order on the condition that he stick to procedure, not the substance of Waltz's remarks. Waltz then finished his speech.
At one point, Waltz told Rodríguez, "Every time you interrupt me, I'm just going to keep explaining how corrupt this regime is, and I'm going to do it a little more slowly," according to the Herald.
The Arguments
Waltz rejected the premise of the debate. "There is no blockade," he said, according to UN News. He said US exports to Cuba topped $876 million in the first eight months of 2026, and he blamed Cuba's crisis on its own government. During the speech, he held up a photo of Fidel Castro wearing a luxury watch, ABC News reported.
Cuba's position is that the embargo is strangling the island. According to the Herald, Cuba's report to the Assembly puts the damage at more than $8 billion in a single year and $178.7 billion over six decades, a figure that has not been independently confirmed. UN News reported that the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba has warned of an energy crisis and possible humanitarian collapse. UN officials also reported in May that more than 100,000 surgeries had been postponed.
Later, on X, Waltz accused a member of the Cuban delegation of trying to get UN staff to cut the US microphones during his speech, the Herald reported.
The Vote Is Wednesday
The nonbinding resolution calling for an end to the embargo goes to a vote on Wednesday, October 28. This is the 34th time the Assembly will vote on it. Last year it passed 165-7, with 12 abstentions. Rodríguez, who is due to give his own statement Wednesday, predicted that "the vast majority of UN member states will maintain their support for the resolution," according to the Herald.
Only the US Congress can lift the embargo, whatever the vote says.
