Mike Waltz was arguing against the annual UN resolution condemning the US embargo on Cuba when the Cuban delegation began banging its table and demanding a point of order. The US ambassador to the United Nations had accused Cuba’s government of enriching its political elite while ordinary Cubans faced food shortages, power cuts and economic hardship.
The dispute unfolded on Tuesday on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly Hall, during a debate among the body’s 193 members on a resolution calling for an end to the US trade embargo on Cuba.
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s foreign minister, joined the interruption, then walked down the aisle towards the rostrum. He shouted at Waltz: “You are a liar!”
Waltz answered: “I'm the representative of the United States of America. Back up. This isn't Havana. You're not going to intimidate me.”
Khalilur Rahman, the President of the UN General Assembly, temporarily suspended proceedings after the outburst. Rodríguez Parrilla then raised a point of order, saying: “I request you to call to order the Permanent Representative of the United States, who is not only lying grossly, but is beneath the dignity of this forum and member states. He is offending the dignity of the people and government of Cuba.”
Waltz’s case against the resolution centred on allegations of corruption within Cuba’s socialist government. He held up a photograph of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro wearing two Rolex watches worth around $40,000 in today’s money, and said: “According to the regime's own statistics, that would pay for 55 years of an average Cuban wage.” He also displayed a photograph of Cuba’s current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, wearing a Rolex.
Waltz cited reports saying that GAESA, a military-run Cuban conglomerate, has amassed $18 billion in assets.
The confrontation was recorded by J.P. Freire, a US diplomat. Richard Tur de la Concepción, First Secretary of Cuba’s Permanent Mission to the UN, allegedly grabbed at Freire’s mobile phone, pushed the device away and wagged his finger at him, accusing Freire of invading his personal space.
Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, signed paperwork to eject Tur de la Concepción from the US in response to the alleged contact. Waltz said the Cuban official would be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours.
The episode followed a confrontation one week earlier between Waltz and Cuban official Ernesto Soberón Guzmán outside a US-hosted panel involving Cuban dissidents and former prisoners.
The dispute came as the Trump administration has intensified pressure on Cuba. In late January, it said it would impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The warning has effectively cut off fuel to the island, contributing to widespread power outages that have affected cooking, water supplies, internet and telephone services.
The General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in almost every year since 1992 for an end to the embargo, which has been in place for more than 60 years. Last year’s resolution passed by 165-7, with 12 abstentions. Argentina, Ukraine and Hungary opposed the measure for the first time.
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