Friends of Cuba in the United States gathered today near the United Nations headquarters with a clear message: “No to the Blockade.”

The phrase was clearly visible, presented like a human chalkboard formed by members of the group wearing white shirts, each bearing one of the letters on the front.

This initiative is part of a series of actions in support of Cuba, which for more than three decades has gone to the UN to denounce this policy of collective punishment, intensified since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

The examination of the Cuban resolution demanding an end to the embargo will take place between Tuesday and tomorrow, Wednesday—the day on which the international community will once again vote against this unilateral blockade, which faces overwhelming worldwide rejection.

During the October 27 session, statements were heard from representatives of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and China, the Group of Friends of the Charter of the United Nations, and the African Group, among others.

On an individual level, more than twenty countries generally denounced the impact of the embargo on the Cuban population and declared their intention to support the island nation’s resolution.

The discordant note came from the United States representative, Mike Waltz, but Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla stepped up to confront him.

Rodríguez Parrilla interrupted Waltz’s speech and called for order in response to an address filled with calumnies, distortions, and falsehoods.

“You are lying,” said the chief of Cuban diplomacy. Behind him, as he approached the podium where Waltz was speaking, the other members of the Cuban delegation followed.

“That person needs to step away from the podium; he is not going to intimidate me,” and “I am the representative of the United States of America, step back,” declared Waltz, who claimed to speak on behalf of the Cuban people.

“Based on Rule 71 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, I request that you call the Permanent Representative of the United States to order. He is not only lying in a gross and arrogant manner, but he is also disrespecting the dignity of this Assembly and its Member States,” retorted the head of the Cuban delegation from his seat in the plenary hall.

He accused Waltz of exerting pressure and offending the dignity of both the Cuban people and its government.

Later, on his X account, the Foreign Minister—who labeled Waltz a liar—wrote on the social platform: “The U.S. government, through its crude lies in the United Nations General Assembly, launched a new desperate attempt to justify the economic aggression against Cuba and its criminal energy blockade.”

“His statements today are part of a media circus, of threats and an electoral campaign, to which the U.S. government devotes significant financial and human resources,” he added.

“There is no pretext to sustain this act of collective punishment inflicted upon the Cuban people,” he stated.

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

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