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IrelandCuba embargo debate halts amid confrontation at UN podium
Reuters' clip shows Michael Waltz ordering a delegate to back away while the assembly president repeatedly tries to restore order.
Reuters
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 261,293 views a day, 31 times a normal first day on this channel (8,530).
UN meeting suspended after US and Cuban envoys clash
"Back up, Ambassador," Michael Waltz calls from the podium. From the chair, UN General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman asks delegates to return to their places. The exchange continues, and Rahman announces that he is suspending the meeting.
Reuters' Short captures a session debating the US embargo of Cuba breaking down into shouted exchanges between the US ambassador and Cuban representatives. The footage is dated October 27 in New York. Delegates stand holding procedural books as Waltz objects to interruptions, telling an approaching delegate, "Back away! This isn't Havana."
The subject behind the confrontation is a longstanding restriction on US trade with Cuba, in place since 1960. But the clip centers on the immediate difficulty of keeping the debate going, rather than the arguments for or against the embargo.
Posted the following day, the Short drew roughly a quarter-million views in its first day, about thirty times Reuters' usual start for that format. Its closing exchange leaves the procedural outcome clear: "The meeting is suspended. Please sit down," Rahman says.
An American politician and diplomat who has served as US ambassador to the United Nations since September 2025. He previously served as national security advisor.
More on Wikipedia ›Bangladesh’s foreign minister and a diplomat and economist. He began a one-year term as president of the UN General Assembly in September 2026.
More on Wikipedia ›US restrictions on trade with Cuba that began in 1960. The sanctions affect all sectors of Cuba’s economy.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Channel
- Reuters
- Subscribers
- 4,370,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 8,508,557
- Channel views, pace per day
- 944,627 (on a normal day: 1,024,123)
- Video published
- October 28, 2026
- Video views so far
- 276,892 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 217,902
The numbers
The confrontation drew an unusually large first-day audience for a Reuters Short, along with a much busier comment section than usual.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which country's US trade embargo was the subject of this UN debate?
The General Assembly session was debating the US embargo of Cuba.