Mike Waltz urges UN to reject Cuba embargo resolution as debate turns heated
The US ambassador asked countries to vote against Cuba’s annual resolution on 27 October. Cuba accused Washington of pressuring governments, and the vote remained pending.
US Ambassador Mike Waltz urged UN members in New York on 27 October to reject Cuba’s annual resolution opposing the American trade embargo. The appeal came as the General Assembly began a two-day debate, with the vote still pending. The resolution is non-binding, so its passage would not itself lift the embargo.
The Rio Times reported that Waltz asked the assembly’s 193 member states to vote against the text. He argued that Cuba’s government uses the resolution to deflect responsibility for hardship at home and disputed its description of the embargo as a blockade. ‘There is no blockade,’ he said, defining one as a ring of military ships around an island.
Cuba and the US dispute pressure over the vote
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused Washington of threatening countries over how they vote, The Rio Times reported. Waltz said the US had asked many governments to reconsider their positions and portrayed Cuba as the side making threats. The competing accounts leave the nature of that pressure contested.
That exchange followed an earlier report on Cuba’s accusation that the US was pressuring countries ahead of the vote. Waltz’s appeal to the assembly and the confrontation during his remarks are the developments in the 27 October debate.
Hindustan Times reported that Rodríguez approached Waltz’s podium while the ambassador was speaking and raised a point of order under General Assembly Rule 71. Waltz told him to back away; Rodríguez called him a liar. The meeting was then suspended. The outlet also reported that Waltz displayed images of Fidel Castro and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wearing watches as he argued that Cuba’s leaders enjoyed privileges denied to ordinary people.
What the embargo resolution can change
Cuba’s resolution has passed at every vote since 1992, according to The Rio Times. In 2025, it received 165 votes in favour, seven against and 12 abstentions. Those figures provide a comparison for this year’s vote, but the resolution cannot end the embargo: The Rio Times says only the US Congress can lift it.
The General Assembly debate was scheduled to continue on 28 October. The Rio Times said no exact time had been announced for the vote. Its result will show how many governments back Cuba’s call this year, following Waltz’s appeal for them to change course.
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Sources and context
- US Urges UN to Vote Down Cuba Embargo TextThe Rio Times
- ‘You are a liar’: Mike Waltz, Cuba’s Foreign Minister trade explosive barbs at UN | WatchHindustan Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.