Cuban minister accuses Waltz of lying during UN General Assembly speech

During a Tuesday, October 27, 2026 UN General Assembly debate on a non-binding resolution demanding an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba, with a vote set for Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz displayed photos and figures on Cuban officials’ wealth. He held up an image of Fidel Castro wearing two Rolexes valued at roughly $40,000—saying that equals 55 years of an average Cuban wage by the regime’s own statistics—and a photo of President Miguel Díaz-Canel also wearing a Rolex, plus images of a 14,000-square-meter Castro family beach property in Varadero, the private island Cayo Piedra with a floating restaurant and dolphin lagoon, a 50-meter yacht linked to the family, and a Miami Herald report that military conglomerate GAESA held $18 billion in profits and $14 billion in cash in secret accounts. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla rose, approached the podium, accused Waltz of lying, and asked President Khalilur Rahman to call Waltz to order under Rule 71. Waltz shouted "Back up!" and said Rodríguez would not intimidate him in the United States as he tries to intimidate political prisoners; he also said interruptions would only slow further explanation of corruption and that this was America and the United Nations, not a communist dictatorship. Rahman moved to restore order and threatened to suspend the session. Separately, a Cuban delegation member reached for spokesperson J.P. Freire’s phone as he filmed; Freire protested the violation of his personal space. Left-rated headlines stress a wild shouting match; right-rated ones stress "Back up," chaos, and an assaulted staffer. The embargo resolution vote was set for the next day.