Overview
- On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla engaged in a loud shouting match on the General Assembly floor that prompted the president of the Assembly to suspend the meeting.
- Waltz used his remarks to display images and allege long‑running corruption in Cuba’s leadership, including photos of leaders wearing expensive Rolex watches that he said illustrated elite enrichment while citizens suffer.
- Parrilla approached Waltz’s podium, accused him of lying and raised a procedural point of order challenging Waltz’s remarks as offensive to Cuba and its people.
- Video published by news outlets shows a member of the Cuban delegation apparently trying to grab the phone of Waltz’s spokesman, J.P. Freire, who was recording the exchange, raising concerns about physical interference with U.S. staff.
- The confrontation comes as the Trump administration has tightened measures this year to restrict fuel and pressure Havana, a campaign Havana says has caused power cuts and strained health services, and the dispute is unfolding ahead of the annual U.N. vote that typically condemns the U.S. embargo.