Waltz takes Cuba to school as UN vote hits 30-year low

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz on Tuesday tore into Cuba's claim that American sanctions cause the island's economic collapse, telling the General Assembly the real embargo is the one Havana imposes on its own 10 million citizens.

"For 67 years, the Cuban regime has enriched itself, its ruling elites, while abusing its people, strangling private enterprise, criminalizing dissent, and clinging to failed communist economics," Waltz told delegates.

The session came as Cuba suffered its third nationwide grid collapse this year, leaving nearly 10 million people without power. Waltz noted the U.S. sends $500 million annually in commodities to Cuba and provided more than $100 million in aid in 2026 alone, while humanitarian shipments from China, Russia, Mexico, Canada and the European Union have all reached the island in recent months. "There is no ring of Navy warships sitting around this island blocking trade or humanitarian aid going into Cuba," he said. "It's fake. It's false. It's a lie."

The General Assembly voted 136-9 with 30 abstentions to hold the emergency session — Cuba's worst result in more than three decades, down from 165 votes in favor in October 2025 — reflecting the regime's growing diplomatic isolation as its economic model unravels.

Cuba's Economic Contradictions

Waltz directly challenged the disparity between the ruling elite's privileges and the population's suffering, questioning how the Castro family maintains a private jet and 700 mansions while hospitals lack fuel. He pointed to GAESA, Cuba's military-run conglomerate, which controls an estimated 40% to 70% of the economy and holds $18 billion in assets, according to U.S. government estimates. "Not a penny goes to the Cuban people," Waltz said.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the Trump administration of waging a "multidimensional, non-conventional war" against Cuba and described fuel restrictions as "an act of war." When Rodriguez attempted to interrupt Waltz with procedural motions, the ambassador fired back: "This is not Havana. This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations. And we will speak, and we will not be silenced like your own people."

Political Prisoners and Diplomatic Fallout

Waltz displayed photographs of jailed dissidents including artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo Pérez and Duannis Dabel León Taboada, noting the fifth anniversary of the July 11, 2021 protests approaches. Human rights organizations estimate 1,281 political prisoners remain in Cuba as of May 2026, with 338 still serving sentences related to the 2021 demonstrations.

The 136 votes Cuba secured Tuesday marked a sharp decline from the 165 it received in the annual embargo vote last October — the regime's weakest showing at the UN in over 30 years. Deputy U.S. Representative Jeff Bartos objected to reopening the agenda item, arguing the three-hour session would cost approximately $84,000 that could instead fund food and medical supplies for Cuban families.

The last time Cuba faced this level of diplomatic erosion was in the early 1990s following the Soviet Union's collapse, when its economy contracted by 35% during the "Special Period." Today, the regime faces a similar reckoning as foreign benefactors have dwindled and the U.S. has tightened sanctions on revenue-generating sectors including tourism and remittances.

"The answer is simple: because blaming the United States is the only economic plan Havana has left," Waltz said of Cuba's decision to bring the issue before the General Assembly.

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