By Islam El-Sakka
Tensions between the United States and Cuba erupted into a public shouting match at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday during the annual debate on the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla traded heated remarks on the assembly floor, prompting the session president to temporarily suspend the meeting.
Confrontation erupts during speech
Waltz had begun delivering a speech sharply critical of the Cuban government when Rodríguez Parrilla and the Cuban delegation started shouting and gesturing from the audience. The assembly president repeatedly banged his gavel calling for order, but the disruption continued. Waltz responded by smiling and telling the chamber, "Imagine what happens when someone ask these questions in Havana, not in a room of ambassadors and cameras!"
Waltz holds up photo of Castro
During his remarks, Waltz displayed a photograph of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro wearing a luxury watch, using it to underscore his criticism of the regime. The exchange escalated when Rodríguez Parrilla approached the podium area. Waltz shouted, "This is America, this is the United Nations, this isn't your communist dictatorship. You can't silence me or you cannot silence my colleagues!" He then demanded the assembly president make the Cuban minister "back away from this podium."
Meeting suspended, then resumed
The assembly president suspended the session. After reviewing UN rules, he allowed Rodríguez Parrilla to raise a point of order, restricting his comments to procedural matters rather than the substance of Waltz's speech. The Cuban minister used the opportunity to accuse Waltz of "grossly lying." Waltz completed his address without further major incident, urging member states to vote against the resolution on the embargo scheduled for Wednesday.
Aftermath on social media
Following the session, Rodríguez Parrilla posted on X criticizing Waltz's "arrogance and hubris," noting that Waltz was at the United Nations, "not at the US National Security Council, nor in a Green Berets unit, nor in a Signal group." The reference alluded to Waltz's tenure as national security adviser, during which he inadvertently included a journalist in a Signal chat discussing military operations in Yemen. President Donald Trump nominated Waltz to the UN post while also announcing that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would serve as national security adviser.
