Khalilur Rahman Suspends UN Session as US and Cuban Delegates Clash
US and Cuban delegates exchanged heated remarks during a United Nations General Assembly debate on Washington’s longstanding economic embargo against Cuba.
As tensions escalated, UN General Assembly President and Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman temporarily suspended the session to restore order.
The incident took place on Tuesday (October 27) during the annual debate on the US economic embargo against Cuba. According to ABC News, tensions erupted when US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz began criticising Cuba’s socialist government, accusing it of corruption and allowing those in power to accumulate wealth.
In protest against Waltz’s remarks, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla and other members of the country’s delegation began shouting and banging on their desks. Khalilur Rahman repeatedly struck the gavel and urged the delegates to calm down, but his efforts failed to restore order.
Waltz then said, “I hope, Mr. President, that everyone is now listening to the delegation.” He went on to criticise Cuba’s political situation, asking delegates to imagine what would happen if anyone raised similar questions in Havana.
The exchange between Waltz and the Cuban foreign minister grew increasingly heated.
“This is America. This is the United Nations. This is not your communist dictatorship. You cannot silence me or my colleagues,” Waltz said.
At one point, Rodriguez Parrilla moved towards the front of the chamber, prompting Waltz to tell him to move away from the podium. Waltz shouted that no one could intimidate him in the United States, adding that he represented the country.
Khalilur Rahman eventually suspended the session to restore order. He later explained the rules of procedure and allowed the Cuban foreign minister to raise a procedural objection, on the condition that he did not address the substance of Waltz’s remarks.
Returning to his seat, Rodriguez Parrilla protested against Waltz’s statements, describing the US ambassador’s allegations as “shameless lies”.
Waltz later completed his remarks without further major disruptions. He urged UN member states to vote against a resolution condemning the US embargo on Cuba. A vote on the resolution was scheduled for Wednesday.
Following the incident, Rodriguez Parrilla criticised Waltz in a post on X, saying that arrogance and conceit had made him forget that he was at the United Nations, not the US National Security Council.
The Cuban foreign minister added that Waltz was neither in a Green Berets unit, the US Army’s special forces, nor in a Signal group. He said Waltz had demonstrated his incompetence and inability in those settings.
Waltz is a former member of the US Army’s Green Berets special forces. He had previously faced controversy while serving as national security adviser.
Last year, it emerged that a journalist had been mistakenly added to a Signal group created to discuss US strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The group included senior national security officials, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance.
US President Donald Trump nominated Waltz as the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. At the same time, Trump announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would also serve as national security adviser.
The UN General Assembly adopts a resolution every year condemning the decades-long US economic embargo against Cuba. This year’s debate again exposed the sharp divisions between Washington and Havana over the policy.
Source: ABC News
