Cuban delegation walks out of UN General Assembly as Donald Trump predicts fall of Havana regime

Confrontation at the United Nations

United States President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, declaring that Cuba is an unstable state nearing collapse. During the speech, Trump stated that his administration is pursuing fundamental change on the island, where economic and political pressure has reached the heaviest level to date. The Cuban diplomatic delegation, led by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, stood up and exited the assembly hall in direct protest as Trump delivered his remarks. Trump asserted that communism would never reach the United States, but stated that freedom would soon arrive in Cuba.

My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure-the biggest pressure they've ever been under. It's an absolutely failed State, it's failing like never before, and it will fall.

Allegations and ongoing negotiations

Trump asserted that Havana represents a security concern for the United States, situated 150 kilometers off the coast of Florida. He stated that Washington will not permit foreign adversaries to operate safe havens near American borders. Trump also accused the Cuban government of maintaining ties with radical left networks, communist organizations, and the Democratic Socialists of America within US borders over several decades. He disclosed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is actively involved in negotiations with Cuban authorities.

Havana responds to Washington

Cuban officials rejected Trump's accusations in statements released on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla asserted on social media that Cuba is a peaceful, sovereign state and poses no threat to the United States or any other country. Rodríguez characterized US economic measures, including trade restrictions and energy blockades, as acts of collective punishment.

The United States government is incapable of accepting that Cuba is, and has the right to be, a fully independent and sovereign country. None of the falsehoods spoken by Trump, nor any slander, will ever deny that reality.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also condemned the address, stating that Washington uses accusations of external threats to justify economic sanctions against the Cuban population.

Incapable of justifying the punishment of the people of Cuba and its genocidal economic war, the President of the United States repeats at the UN that Cuba represents a threat.

Regional tensions and policy escalation

The diplomatic clash at the UN follows months of escalating actions by Washington across Latin America and the Caribbean. The United States has enforced a trade embargo against Cuba for over 60 years and increased financial restrictions in recent months. In January, the US military intervened to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office, and in June, Trump publicly stated that the US was developing plans concerning Cuba. Prior to the UN assembly on Monday, Rodríguez told a meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that the US is using counter-narcotics maritime operations as a pretext to militarize the Caribbean and enforce a revised Monroe Doctrine.