The Cuban Handshake

November 4, 2026 — Belly of the Beast

Yesterday’s midterm elections have reshaped the U.S. Congress, giving Democrats an opportunity to rein in President Donald Trump’s all-out economic war on Cuba.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidates who openly opposed U.S. sanctions made gains in Florida and across the country, challenging a longstanding assumption that criticizing Washington’s hard-line approach is an electoral liability.

In this special midterms edition of our newsletter, Belly of the Beast journalists Blake Burdge, Charlie Cabrera and Liz Oliva Fernández report on what the election results could mean for U.S. policy toward Cuba and those living under it.

By Blake Burdge

Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, delivering a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump and opening the possibility for a showdown over his administration’s economic war on Cuba.

With their new majorities and control over congressional committees, Democrats could pursue legislation ending Trump’s oil blockade, prohibit funding for unauthorized military operations and advance measures to ease or repeal economic sanctions.

The election results also cast doubt on the conventional wisdom about the political risks of opposing the embargo, including in Florida, where Cuba hardliners have long wielded enormous influence.

Cracks in Florida’s Cuba Orthodoxy

Democrats have long been reluctant to challenge Washington’s hard-line Cuba policy, fearing they would be branded soft on communism and lose support among Cuban-American voters.

But this year, many Democratic candidates abandoned that political calculation, even in Florida.

In the Florida senate race, Republican incumbent Ashley Moody narrowly defeated state representative Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who openly opposed the Trump administration’s economic blockade on Cuba.

Nixon accused the Trump administration of imposing “collective punishment that hurts Cuban families,” called for easing restrictions on fuel, food and medical equipment, and advocated restoring Obama-era engagement with the island.

Nixon lost by roughly three percentage points, a dramatic improvement over the 16-point margin by which Marco Rubio defeated his Democratic challenger for the same seat in 2022.

“That tells you the old assumption that opposing the embargo is disqualifying in Florida no longer holds,” said Andrea Fernández Aponte, who leads Cuba advocacy at the Latin America Working Group (LAWG).

In Florida’s 26th Congressional District, Democrat Nicole Locklin seems to have come within a hair of pulling off a surprising upset of Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), a 23-year incumbent and the longest serving Cuban-American hardliner. With nearly all votes counted, Locklin trails by less than one percentage point, 49.1% to 49.87%.

Díaz-Balart chairs the House subcommittee overseeing State Department funding, a position he has used to help direct millions of dollars toward programs aimed at bringing about regime change in Cuba.

While Locklin has supported targeted sanctions against Cuban officials, she has also called for loosening restrictions and expanding access to food, medicine and fuel.

In a battle of Cuban Americans in the adjacent 27th Congressional District, Democrat Eliott Rodríguez, appears to have lost a bid to unseat incumbent Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), another leading advocate of Trump’s maximum-pressure sanctions on Cuba. Rodríguez was trailing by less than half a percentage point (50.23% to 49.77%). Just two years ago, Salazar won the seat by more than 20 points.

In February, Salazar acknowledged that Cuban families were going hungry as a result of U.S. policy, but likened their suffering to the pain of childbirth.

In contrast, Rodríguez, who still has family in Cuba, has sharply criticized the administration’s Cuba policy.

“I do not support starving people to death in Cuba,” Rodríguez told Miami-based public radio station WLRN in October.

Rodríguez also said he would support a War Powers Resolution challenging Trump’s authority to conduct military operations against Cuba without congressional approval.

“I’m not going to give Donald Trump a pass on doing whatever he feels like doing in Cuba,” he told Politico.

Trump’s ramped-up economic war on the island, which is fueling a humanitarian crisis without producing any tangible benefit to the United States, may have prompted some Democrats to reconsider their approach to Cuba.

“The hope is that finally, after Trump and Rubio have pushed this to such an extreme place, Democrats will say, ‘We can’t justify this anymore,’” said Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, a Washington-based advocacy group that opposes U.S. military intervention and economic sanctions.

Progressives Push Back on Cuba

Beyond Florida, a new generation of progressive Democrats has been increasingly vocal in their opposition to hard-line policies toward Cuba.

In August, New York Democrats Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez joined Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania and Adam Hamawy of New Jersey at the Panamerican Congress in Uruguay, where progressive leaders called for an immediate end to the U.S. blockade on Cuba.

All four won their congressional races Tuesday.

Sperling said young voters increasingly see Cuba policy as a measure of a politician’s progressive credentials.

“There’s a lot of young people that see this issue as a sign of whether a member of Congress is truly a human rights and progressive advocate,” he said.

Growing Opposition in Congress

Even before these elections, a growing number of Democratic lawmakers had been speaking out against the Trump administration’s Cuba policy.

In an April letter to Trump, 52 Democratic legislators accused the administration of “engineering an accelerated energy collapse” in Cuba, warning that its policies had shifted responsibility for the island’s suffering “squarely onto the United States.”

That same month, Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) traveled to Cuba to witness the humanitarian consequences of the oil blockade.

After visiting a Havana maternity hospital where power outages threatened the lives of premature babies dependent on incubators and other life-saving equipment, Jayapal condemned the blockade’s devastating impact on civilian infrastructure.

“What we’re doing feels like bombing energy infrastructure,” she told Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández. Jackson called the blockade “an act of war” and urged Washington to end it.

The visit also prompted a confrontation with the State Department after the lawmakers were denied a meeting with the top U.S. diplomat in Havana. Joined by Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX), they accused the administration of obstructing congressional oversight.

In May, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) led 31 members of Congress in demanding that Trump lift the oil blockade, abandon plans for military intervention and end the detention of migrants at the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Ramirez went to Cuba in July alongside Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Maxine Dexter (D-OR) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM). Belly of the Beast had exclusive access to the lawmakers’ visit to a Havana hospital—watch our video of it HERE.

In September, Ramirez and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) organized an informal congressional hearing where witnesses testified about the humanitarian consequences and alleged illegality of the blockade.

Later that month, 45 organizations urged House Democratic leadership to force a vote on legislation challenging unauthorized military action against Cuba.

What a Democratic Majority Could Do

With majorities in both chambers, Democrats will control congressional committees, giving them the power to hold hearings, subpoena administration officials and investigate the humanitarian consequences of Trump’s policies. Such investigations could expose abuses, force Trump officials to defend their decisions publicly and build pressure for policy changes.

But Democratic control of Congress does not guarantee a break with Washington’s longstanding hostility toward Cuba, which has often had bipartisan support.

During Biden’s first two years, Democrats held both the House and Senate, yet his administration largely embraced the hard-line approach installed by Trump during his first term, including Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism (there is no credible evidence that Cuba sponsors terrorism).

This time, however, Democrats will enter Congress with legislation already in the works to challenge Trump’s oil blockade and growing momentum within their ranks to confront his administration’s Cuba policy.

In April, the Senate voted 51–47 to block a War Powers Resolution that could have forced Trump to end military enforcement of the oil blockade. The measure argued that using the Coast Guard and other armed forces to stop fuel shipments constituted hostilities requiring congressional authorization.

“If anyone were doing to the United States what we are doing to Cuba, we would definitely consider it an act of war,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said before the vote.

Kaine subsequently introduced another War Powers Resolution, S.J.Res. 193, with Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), seeking to end unauthorized U.S. military operations against Cuba.

In the House, Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) introduced H.Con.Res. 106, similarly seeking to end military involvement in hostilities against Cuba without congressional authorization.

Sperling, whose organization backed the House measure, has urged lawmakers to hold a vote before the outgoing Congress ends in January. A strong showing, he argued, could build momentum for the new Democratic majority.

These resolutions would not affect the six-decades-old economic embargo, which was codified into law with the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

Advocates for a change in Cuba policy are instead calling on Democrats to pursue the more tangible goal of ending Trump’s oil blockade.

“The first priority must be to stop any potential military action against Cuba, including an end to the fuel embargo which is being militarily enforced,” Suzanne Adely, president of the National Lawyers Guild, told Belly of the Beast.

Democrats could also use their power over military spending to constrain Trump’s bellicose policy toward Cuba.

In June, Velázquez and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) urged the House Armed Services Committee to include a provision in the annual defense bill prohibiting funding for military operations against Cuba without congressional authorization. The Republican-led committee advanced the bill without the provision.

Fernández Aponte said Democrats could go further, restricting funds for Coast Guard vessels and other military assets enforcing the oil blockade.

How Far Can Democrats Go?

In February, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced the United States-Cuba Trade Act, which would dismantle much of the legal framework underpinning the blockade, including repealing Helms-Burton and the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act.

The bill has drawn support from progressive Democrats, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Greg Casar (D-TX) and Velázquez.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) had introduced similar legislation in the Senate the previous year.

Even with their congressional majorities, Democrats will face an uphill battle trying to pass new laws on Cuba policy or repeal old ones like Helms-Burton. They would need 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster. Even then, they would likely face a presidential veto that could only be overridden by a two-thirds majority in both chambers.

“Full repeal [of Helms-Burton] is a long-term fight,” said Fernández Aponte. “In the near term, there is a real opening to roll back the most damaging measures, starting with the oil blockade and the restrictions on remittances and travel.”

But Democratic Party establishment figures still wedded to the old political playbook on Cuba could stand in the way of any change to Cuba policy.

“The biggest obstacle is Florida politics,” said Fernández Aponte. “Many Democratic leaders still see Cuba as a losing issue with Cuban-American voters, so they avoid it.”

Electoral considerations aren’t the only factor. Some Democratic lawmakers also have longstanding ties to wealthy Cuban-American donors and pro-embargo political organizations.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who won reelection Tuesday, has received campaign contributions from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC for two decades. She and fellow Florida Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who also won reelection, opposed Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list just before he left office in January 2025.

Adely questioned whether Democrats would reverse course on Cuba without sustained public pressure.

“The political reality is that the Dems have their history of supporting imperialist policies, so the movement cannot just leave it to them,” she said. “Whatever the avenue, the movement must see this as the moment to escalate political pressure.

Madrid, Nov 4 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla denounced today that the US government is imposing a collective punishment against the people of the Caribbean island, reinforced to unprecedented levels.

• November 4, 2026

During his participation in the Ministerial Dialogue of the XXX Ibero-American Summit with Associate and Consultative Observers, Rodríguez Parrilla stated that under an energy embargo that is equivalent to a naval blockade, Washington applies or threatens to apply secondary sanctions to individuals or entities that maintain, legitimately and sovereignly, economic and commercial relations.

His words, shared on his social media account, also pointed to Cuba’s willingness to actively participate, with its experience and knowledge, in cooperation projects and exchange spaces aimed at the benefit of our peoples.

The Foreign Minister, who heads the Cuban delegation at the Ibero-American summit, also thanked the organizers of this meeting, as part of the efforts to strengthen cooperation between the Conference and extra-regional partners.

The XXX Ibero-American Summit officially opens tonight at the Teatro Real in Madrid, although since last Sunday it has been promoting business and digital-focused meetings (especially with AI), which will be adopted today by the high-level segment.

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Washington, Oct 31 (Prensa Latina) For the thirty-fourth time, the condemnation of the United States blockade against Cuba was heard loud and clear at the UN General Assembly, this time in a scenario of unprecedented intensification of that imposed unilateral siege.

• October 31, 2026

From October 24 to 31, and convened by the National Network on Cuba, the ‘Global Week of Action against US Genocide in Cuba’ took place.

Marches in New York City, interactive presentations at the Chicago House of Culture (October 24); at the First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (26), and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Boston, on October 27, were part of the actions in favor of the largest of the Antilles.

Meanwhile, from Miami, activist Pete Seidman reported that about fifty people protested against the blockade at the ‘Torch of Friendship’ monument in the center of that South Florida city.

The demonstration, held on October 28, the very day of the vote in the General Assembly on the Cuban resolution calling for an end to the blockade, highlighted that many people in Miami are aligned with the majority of the international community in Cuba’s just demand.

Built in 1960, the ‘Torch’ was intended to pay tribute to Miami’s role as a gateway to the United States for immigrants, particularly for Cubans who arrived after the triumph of the Revolution.

A right-wing Cuban organization that supports the blockade threatened to hold a counter-demonstration in the same place, starting half an hour earlier.

However, the Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade Against Cuba already had permission to occupy that space, Seidman noted.

Radio Miami also covered a demonstration in Chicago’s Federal Plaza to denounce the United States government’s attempts to suffocate the Cuban people.

“We are living through a critical moment in our history, in which we are witnessing acts of terrorism and interventionism throughout Latin America, which sow terror, war, hunger and chaos in the name of democracy,” said Byron Sigcho-López, Chicago’s 25th District Councilman, during his speech at the event.

“This is where we have the most important and urgent task,” he said: “to organize our communities and tell our brothers and sisters the truth about the blockade.”

Sigcho-López was the main driving force behind the Chicago resolution demanding Cuba’s removal from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The Chicago City Council unanimously approved the initiative in July of last year.

Meanwhile, union members and political activists from the Los Angeles area —convened by Workers United, an organization allied with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)— gathered to denounce the unilateral blockade imposed on the Cuban people more than six and a half decades ago.

From that California city, activist Mark Friedman commented on the turnout at the meeting.

“I want you to understand something with absolute clarity: the U.S. fuel embargo is not an abstract political debate,” said Savannah Boyd, representing CodePink and All Power Books.

“This is not a diplomatic chess move. It is a weapon aimed directly at the heart of the Cuban people. This violent blockade is the longest and most exhaustive in modern history,” he added.

The constant power outages severely affect schools, hospitals and virtually every aspect of daily life on that small but proud island, Boyd pointed out, warning that the blockade “is not ‘collateral damage’; it is the deliberate and calculated imposition of suffering on human beings.”

On October 28, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Cuban resolution calling for an end to the US blockade against Cuba.

This year those 130 votes have extraordinary value because they were achieved amid brutal diplomatic pressure to try to end the historic support for the island in its just claim.

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The Cuban president described the support as an act of sovereignty in the face of coercion exerted by the United States government during the vote.

October 30, 2026 — teleSUR

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel expressed his gratitude to the 130 nations that supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba.

The overwhelming global support against imperialism’s economic war— 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions —came after intense diplomatic disputes in the multilateral arena and brutal pressure from the White House on sovereign states to change their votes and not support Cuba. This marks the thirty-fourth time since 1992 that the world has rejected this US policy.

The Caribbean head of state used the social media platform X to communicate his message to the world. Díaz-Canel highlighted the political courage of the countries that defied Washington’s threats. In his post, the president wrote: “On behalf of the Cuban people, we thank the 130 nations that voted against the genocidal blockade and the collective punishment to which the U.S. government subjects us.” He added that this decision constituted “an act of courage and sovereignty, in the face of coercion to prevent them from doing so.” This recognition underscores the geopolitical importance of the favorable vote in the current context of bilateral tensions.

The approval of the resolution presented by Cuba occurred against a backdrop of tightening US restrictions. Between March 2025 and February 2026, damages attributed to the blockade amounted to $8.0833 billion , 7% more than in the previous period. Accumulated damages over six decades exceed $178.7 billion at current prices .

Diplomatic tensions at the General Assembly

The day before the vote turned into a diplomatic battle between Cuba, which defends multilateralism and international law, and a MAGA-style US that repeatedly violates the UN Charter and views the world as its backyard. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez warned of an “unprecedented deployment” by Washington to undermine support for the resolution.

During the sessions, the US representative to the UN, Mike Waltz , asserted that “the blockade does not exist” and attempted to blame the Cuban leadership for the economic crisis, claiming it was orchestrated by the White House to destabilize the country . These statements provoked a strong protest from the Cuban delegation, which accused the diplomat of lying about the true causes of the crisis on the island. Diplomats from numerous nations advocated for an end to the unilateral coercive measures and cited their negative impact on national development.

Voting results and historical context

The General Assembly adopted the resolution with 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions . Pressure from the White House and the subservience of a group of nations played their part: there were 10 more votes against and 13 more abstentions compared to the 2025 vote. Some countries did not participate due to arrears in their UN dues payments.

Since 1992, Cuba has presented this initiative annually, always receiving a large majority. The blockade, in place for more than six decades, is systematically rejected by the international community as a violation of international law and the sovereignty of states.

Economic impact and recent escalation

Washington’s aggression against Havana intensified after the US military invasion of Venezuela to kidnap President Nicolás Maduro on January 3. Subsequently, on January 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing tariffs on imports from countries that supply oil to Cuba .

READ ALSO:

Díaz-Canel: Cuba expands the use of its own resources in the face of the US oil strangulation

This measure has generated a severe fuel shortage , affecting electricity generation and causing prolonged blackouts. The lack of energy impacts vital sectors such as the economy, transportation, food production, health, and education. The UN resolution seeks to mitigate these effects by calling for an end to unilateral restrictions.

Author: teleSUR-asm

Source: teleSUR and Agencies

Montevideo, Oct 30 (Prensa Latina) The United Nations vote rejecting the blockade against Cuba sends an overwhelming message in defense of international law and multilateralism, said Lissett Pérez, the Cuban ambassador to Uruguay, here today.

• October 30, 2026

“The most important thing about the UN vote is the overwhelming support of the international community for Cuba,” he told Diario La R.

He argued that the support from 130 countries occurred in a context of strong pressure exerted by Washington and a media manipulation campaign aimed at blaming the Cuban government for the economic and social difficulties facing his country.

“It was in the context of the most brutal pressures, of personal calls from Marco Rubio (Secretary of State) to each president, prime minister of the Caribbean,” he said.

The diplomat noted that the vote should also be interpreted as a defense of the rules governing international relations. In that regard, she highlighted the interventions of the countries that spoke on behalf of regional groups and organizations.

In this regard, he valued Uruguay’s intervention during the debate, representing the Group of 77 and China, of which the South American country holds the pro tempore presidency.

“In that capacity, he spoke and gathered the sentiments of the G77 group,” he explained.

The ambassador also recalled that President Yamando Orsi had included a reference to the rejection of the blockade during his speech at the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

He indicated that 43 other countries addressed the issue at that time.

For Pérez, the continuity of these pronouncements demonstrates that the issue maintains a significant presence on the international agenda, beyond the political differences between governments.

“There is an economic and multidimensional war being waged against Cuba,” the diplomat denounced.

He explained that the US prohibitions are not limited to bilateral trade, but also extend to banks, shipping companies, companies from third countries, tour operators and individuals who maintain ties with the island.

“What they want is to disconnect Cuba, not only from the economy, as they have been doing, but also from solidarity, from that international message that this policy is rejected,” he remarked.

He also referred to the extraterritorial consequences of the blockade affecting countries and entities. “This is not a bilateral issue; this is everyone’s issue,” he stated.

He stressed that his country’s inclusion on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism exacerbates the difficulties of operating within the international banking system.

“We are almost out of the banking system,” he declared.

Pérez noted that the US measures also affect Cuban private businesses that had managed to establish commercial or financial ties with foreign companies.

This situation limits the ability to import supplies, access providers, and maintain business operations. Added to this are the difficulties in contracting maritime transport services and finalizing purchases abroad.

All of this is intended to subject the Cuban people to all kinds of deprivations and to provoke a social explosion on the island, he warned.

“Cuba is not a threat to anyone’s national security,” the ambassador stated, refuting Washington’s justification for the unprecedented tightening of the blockade against the neighboring small country.

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The Mexican ambassador described the unilateral coercive measures against the island as a structural obstacle incompatible with international law.

October 28, 2026 — teleSUR

During the second day of the thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly , during the debate and vote on the resolution presented by Cuba entitled: “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba ,” Mexico’s Permanent Representative to the international body, Héctor Vasconcelos , categorically condemned the economic sanctions imposed for more than six decades.

The diplomat emphasized that the financial blockade transcends the macroeconomic sphere, directly impacting daily life through shortages of food and medicine, limitations in basic services, and a profound energy crisis.

Vasconcelos also stressed that international solidarity should not be limited to declarations of principles , recalling that Mexico has maintained concrete initiatives of humanitarian assistance towards the Cuban people.

In his speech, he warned that the use of external pressure to influence the decisions of a sovereign state contravenes the principles of the UN Charter and peaceful coexistence.

The ambassador stressed that ending the embargo is a vital urgency , noting that no people should be forced to face precarious conditions through unilateral coercive measures outside the Security Council.

Mexico reiterated its demand that Cuba be immediately removed from the United States’ list of State Sponsors of Terrorism , a designation that imposes additional and unjustified financial barriers to its trade.

He also affirmed that dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect must prevail over sanctions , advocating for an international order where Cuba’s full integration contributes to a more just, prosperous, and supportive hemisphere.

The Mexican delegation was the first to speak on this second and final day of debates and voting on the resolution presented by the largest of the Antilles entitled: “Necessity to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” .

On the first day, held yesterday, various countries and international blocs expressed their rejection of the intensified economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly.

During the day of debate on the draft resolution presented by the Caribbean island, the participating delegations denounced the humanitarian consequences and the socio-economic impact generated by these unilateral coercive measures , while urging respect for sovereignty and the principles of international law.

The document has historically enjoyed almost unanimous support, sometimes reaching up to 189 votes in favor.

In last year’s vote, the text was supported by 165 countries, while 12 abstained and only 7 voted against : the United States, Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Hungary.

Author: teleSUR: er – RR

Source: Agencies

United Nations, Oct 28 (Prensa Latina) Cuba received the majority support of the international community today in its fight against the blockade imposed by the United States, which has intensified to unprecedented levels during the administration of Donald Trump.

• October 28, 2026

Despite diplomatic pressure and blackmail, 130 member states voted alongside Cuba in this denunciation, which it has made every year since 1992.

For two days, dozens of arguments were heard at the organization’s headquarters in New York, the vast majority supporting the Caribbean country’s just demand that this policy of collective punishment be lifted.

EXPANSION WILL FOLLOW

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United Nations, Oct 27 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla interrupted the speech of the United States representative today and called for order in the face of an intervention riddled with slander, distortions and lies.

• October 27, 2026

“You are lying,” said the Cuban diplomat, and behind him, as he approached the podium where Mike Waltz was standing, the other members of the Cuban delegation followed.

“That person needs to step away from the podium, he’s not going to intimidate me,” “I am the representative of the United States of America, step back,” said the man who claimed to represent the Cuban people.

“Based on Article 71 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, I request that you call to order the Permanent Representative of the United States, who not only lies in a rude and arrogant manner, but also disrespects the dignity of this Assembly and of the member states,” retorted the head of the Cuban delegation from his place in the plenary.

Rodríguez Parrilla accused him of “exerting pressure and offending the dignity of the people and the Government of Cuba.”

“Mr. Waltz, you are lying again. I wish you better performance in your future political positions; your performance on the National Security Council and at the United Nations has been poor,” the Foreign Minister concluded.

Waltz continued his speech. The Cuban delegation continued protesting. The foreign minister took the floor again to call for order in response to the words of the American representative, whom he called a “liar.”

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) began its annual review on Tuesday of the resolution demanding an end to the United States blockade against Cuba.

The United Nations’ highest deliberative body will debate and vote here on the resolution based on the report presented by Cuba on the need to end this policy of strangulation which, after the arrival of the Donald Trump administration in January 2025, has intensified to unprecedented levels.

Last year, the resolution received 165 votes in favor, seven against (Argentina, United States, Hungary, Israel, North Macedonia, Paraguay and Ukraine) and 12 abstentions (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Moldova, Romania and Poland).

The General Assembly will call for the thirty-fourth time for an end to this collective punishment, a unilateral imposition that Cuba has denounced since 1992.

#AHORA I Cuba 🇨🇺 pide moción de orden en la ONU.#CubaNoEsUnaAmenaza, el bloqueo sí. pic.twitter.com/UY9Dr4Xpur

— Cancillería de Cuba (@CubaMINREX) October 27, 2026

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Havana, Oct 24 (Prensa Latina) The Vice President of the National Assembly of People’s Power in Cuba, Ana María Mari, highlighted here the greatness and resilience of the Cuban people.

• October 24, 2026

These statements to Prensa Latina took place in connection with the recent Public Parliamentary Hearing “Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is”, held at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology.

“Today I am speaking on behalf of millions of Cubans because there is not a single one of us who can say that we are not affected by the blockade within our homes, in our daily lives, in our personal fulfillment, in our dreams or in our plans,” he said.

“The economic, financial, commercial and energy blockade imposed by the United States on the island is a collective punishment, and it is the cost of having made the decision to defend our sovereignty, to build a society under our own rules and to want to live the self-determination of a people,” he added.

The lawyer also spoke of the greatness of the Cuban people and their daily capacity for reinvention. She also expressed particular admiration for healthcare workers.

“Doctors have the task every morning of holding life in their hands, and they do so leaving behind at home the same problems as any Cuban today. They have long sleepless nights, often struggle to cook food for their children, and feel frustrated because they know they have a critically ill patient waiting for them, but transportation is lacking because there isn’t enough fuel. They carry within them this need to arrive on time, with an immense sense of responsibility because there is a human being, a person, waiting for them,” Mari expressed.

“What the Cuban people have done during these years of Revolution has been a constant act of heroism, above all because of their perseverance, resistance, strength, resilience, and desire to get things done. Even so, the price we pay is extremely high,” he said.

“There is no sensitivity in those people who promote the blockade. They lack what should be beating inside their chests. They are not human, they have no heart,” he asserted.

He also referred to attempts to downplay the blockade and the campaigns that deny its existence. “If the blockade is a fallacy, then why so much pressure to vote against Cuba, as our main leaders have denounced in recent days?” he reflected.

Ana María expressed gratitude for the international support the island has received despite US pressure and declared that, although solidarity is a duty, the world is reciprocating all the great, good, and beautiful things Cuba has done.

He also noted that our truth cannot be hidden and assured that our fight for sovereignty protects the autonomy of all countries on the planet.

“That is why we reiterate in every forum that we are not and will never be a threat to any nation, and that the real threat is the collective punishment against a people who long ago made the decision to be free and who will not change that decision under any circumstances or under any blockade,” he concluded.

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October 23, 2026 — Belly of the Beast

Less than two weeks before the UN General Assembly votes on an annual resolution calling for an end to the U.S. economic blockade on Cuba, the Trump administration is organizing an event targeting the Cuban government at UN headquarters, according to Cuba’s UN Ambassador Ernesto Soberón.

The event, which will be held Monday, is titled “Cuba Libre: The Oppression Havana Hides.” Soberón said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pressuring foreign leaders to vote against Cuba.

The resolution to end the blockade has passed 33 years in a row, with the U.S. and Israel its only consistent opponents. In 2024, they were the only two countries to vote against it.

“Cuba will not be intimidated, blackmailed, or silenced,” said Soberón.