US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz says Cuba uses the world body as a stage to "play the victim and shift blame for the failings of the communist regime." In a clip shared online on Oct. 20, he talked about the Cuban government's human rights record and spotlighted its victims. It echoes a heated UN General Assembly debate in July, when he showed photos of jailed Cuban artists, musicians and activists and said the only real embargo is the one the regime imposes on its own people. Washington's position is that Cuba's blackouts, shortages and economic collapse come from failed communist economics, corruption and repression, not from US policy.

Havana sees it very differently. Cuba's foreign minister accused the United States of an "act of war" over restrictions on fuel shipments to the island, and Cuba has long called the US embargo collective punishment that violates Cubans' human rights. Cuba's representatives have also hit back at Waltz directly, with one calling him a "liar" during the July exchange, and Waltz answered that truth is not disrespect. Reports describe a power crisis driven by severe fuel shortages and an aging, poorly maintained grid, and each side blames the other for it. How much of the island's hardship comes from its own policies and how much from US pressure remains the heart of the dispute, and it is likely to keep returning to the UN.