US-Cuba asset control dispute 2026
One page that accretes the verified record as the story develops. Every fact keeps its date and its sources.
US envoy Mike Waltz reports Cuban diplomat shoved US staffer at UN
Waltz pointed to a 100-page report by Rubio titled "Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism," which accuses the Cuban government of running espionage and influence operations in America.
Mike Waltz said a Cuban diplomat shoved a member of his staff and slapped a phone out of his hand during a confrontation at the UN.
Waltz said the Cuban regime has been exporting communism through leftist groups and current politicians in the United States.
“The guy that we actually put on a one-way flight back to his crumbling country shoved one of my staff, slapped the phone out of his hand, was trying to bully the U.N. staff into cutting my microphone. Then, their foreign minister gets up out of his chair and rushes the podium.”
US officials clash with Cuban delegation at UN over Castro book protest
Al Jazeera reports that US envoy Jeff Bartos read an anti-Castro book during Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez's UN address.
Waltz urged the chamber to vote against the resolution under consideration on Wednesday.
The incident occurred during the UN's annual debate on the U.S. blockade against Cuba.
“with his arrogance and hubris, forgets that he is at the United Nations, not at the US National Security Council, nor in a Green Berets unit, nor in a Signal group, where he has repeatedly shown his incompetence and incapacity.”
UN votes to condemn Cuba embargo despite US lobbying
The resolution passed with 130 countries in favour, 17 opposed, and 25 abstaining.
The UN General Assembly voted in favour of a resolution condemning the US economic embargo of Cuba on October 28, 2026.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the US was isolated in its attempt to continue strangling the Cuban people.
US envoy scolds Cuban diplomat at UN
Since January, the US has imposed a fuel blockade on Cuba.
The confrontation between the US envoy and the Cuban diplomat erupted during a vote on the US trade embargo on Cuba.
US envoy Mike Waltz repeatedly told Cuba's UN team 'This is America' during a heated clash at UN headquarters in New York.
Shouting match at UN as Cuban foreign minister approaches US ambassador's podium
Waltz told the Cuban delegation, "This is America, my friend. This is the United Nations. This isn't your communist dictatorship. You cannot silence me."
Waltz urged member states to reject a resolution calling for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
Waltz accused Cuba's government of enriching its leaders while its people suffered.
“This is America, my friend. This is the United Nations. This isn't your communist dictatorship. You cannot silence me.”
Rubio calls on Cubans to partner with CIA
A US-imposed oil blockade on Cuba earlier in 2026 has put civilians under intense economic hardship, including fuel shortages and blackouts.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio mocked Rubio's call on X.
Rubio encouraged Cuban civilians to seize an opportunity to create change through a discreet partnership with the CIA.
“Now the United States is resorting to public recruitment for the CIA… There must be a great deal of desperation or misery within the agency for it to be forced to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste,”
Rubio urges Cubans to collaborate with CIA to bring political change
Fernandez de Cossio said there must be desperation or misery within the CIA for it to be forced to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste.
In May, Trump and Rubio raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba after the administration announced criminal charges against former leader Raúl Castro.
Rubio voiced doubts that the U.S. could reach a diplomatic resolution with Cuba's current government.
“Actually, what we're going to do with Cuba is we're going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We'll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They'll raise up their hands.”
Cuba accuses US of threatening countries ahead of UN embargo vote
Mike Waltz accused Cuban diplomats of harassing and intimidating participants at a US-hosted panel on alleged human rights abuses in Cuba.
Rodriguez said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UN Ambassador Mike Waltz were personally leading the campaign.
Rodriguez accused the US of urging some countries to abstain or skip the vote altogether if they were unwilling to vote against Cuba.
Cuba forges ahead with renewable energy amid US oil blockade
China has been the largest supplier of solar panels to Cuba.
Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy said Cuba is seeking alternative energy solutions using its own resources including sun, wind, tides, and domestic crude oil and gas.
The US has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years.
Cuban official decries possibility of US military action
Donald Trump said during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly that "freedom will be coming" to Cuba.
The US has maintained a foreign policy of maximum economic pressure against Cuba for more than 60 years.
Fernandez de Cossio said bilateral diplomatic channels with the US remain open but have yielded minimal results.
Cuba condemns US at UN for deliberately inflicting humanitarian suffering
Bruno Rodriguez accused the US of deliberately attempting to provoke a humanitarian crisis on the island.
Bruno Rodriguez said Havana remained open to dialogue with the US government without preconditions.
Trump called Cuba an “absolutely failed state” during his UN address.
US open to Cuba talks on government change, Rubio says
The Cuban government says the US embargo cost its economy $8bn between March 2025 and February 2026.
Cuban officials have denied that any talks are going on with the US.
Trump's remarks at the UNGA prompted the Cuban delegation to walk out of the assembly.
“In Cuba, the world watches in dismay as 10 million people face collective punishment from an illegal economic embargo and energy siege,”
Trump and Rubio allies vie for control of Cuba's assets
Trump Organization executives have in recent months returned to Cuba under the aegis of Dominari Holdings for meetings.
Erik Cartelle said the cause is regime change.
Digital News Association Inc received a fresh $250,000 contract from the US government's office of Cuba broadcasting for investigative journalism, research and media production.