U.S. and Cuban officials engage in shouting match during U.N. debate over economic embargo

U.S. and Cuban officials engaged in a stunning shouting match on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, the latest in a series of public spats between the longtime adversaries over Washington’s escalating economic campaign against Havana.

The interaction began shortly after U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz took the podium to argue against supporting the annual resolution this week condemning the United States’ decades-long economic embargo against the island country.

As Waltz was detailing years of alleged corruption by the socialist government, members of the Cuban delegation, including Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, began to slam on their designated table and yell for a point of order.

Then, as U.N. officials sought to tone down the outbursts, Rodríguez walked down the aisle to the head of the General Assembly and yelled to Waltz, “You are a liar!”

Waltz responded, “You understand who you’re dealing with? This is America. Back up.”

While the moment represented a shocking break from diplomatic decorum traditional to the U.N., it perfectly captured the heightened tensions between Cuba and the U.S. as President Trump’s administration seeks to force changes to Cuba’s political system by increasing its already punishing economic campaign.

The Caribbean country — already facing the dire impact of longtime economic and financial troubles — is being pushed to a breaking point after Trump announced in late January that he would impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The warning effectively has cut off fuel to the island, leading to widespread power outages that affect basic activities such as cooking, the water supply and internet and telephone services.

The outbursts Tuesday come a week after a similar interaction between Waltz and his Cuban counterpart, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, outside a U.S.-hosted panel with Cuban dissidents and former prisoners that sought to highlight allegations of the oppressive behavior of the island’s government.

Waltz and other U.S. officials have been using these public events and gatherings at the world body to try to persuade U.N. member states to vote on Wednesday against the annual resolution, which is aimed at calling out the U.S. government’s “maximum pressure policy” against Cuba.

For the last 34 years, the resolution has received overwhelming support. Last year, the vote was 165-7, with 12 abstentions. Argentina, Ukraine and Hungary opposed the measure for the first time.

While such resolutions are not legally binding, they do reflect world opinion.

Amiri writes for the Associated Press.