Johana Tablada Condemns U.S. Actions at the UN as "Revolting" and "Indecent Lies"

Johana Tablada de la Torre, the deputy head of mission at the Cuban embassy in Mexico and a prominent advocate for the regime on social media, described the U.S. delegate's speech at the United Nations General Assembly as "revolting" and full of "indecent lies" in a Facebook post. This followed a session on Tuesday where the UN decided to hold an urgent debate about the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

The vote resulted in 136 countries supporting the debate, nine opposing, and 30 abstaining. However, Tablada portrayed the outcome on her social media as simply "CUBA 136 / USA 9," entirely ignoring the abstentions, which marked the worst outcome for the regime in over thirty years.

In her post, the diplomat accused the Washington delegate of employing "disinformation and intimidation tactics," even quoting him as shamelessly stating, "I don't understand why we're here."

The Diplomatic Showdown

Tablada framed the result as a crushing defeat for the U.S.'s "maneuver" to block the debate. What she failed to mention was that the 30 abstentions were double the 12 recorded in the annual vote of October 2025. Furthermore, the support of 136 nations falls short compared to the 165 votes in that session and the 187 Cuba received in 2024, indicating a significant decline in international backing for the regime.

Both Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla echoed the selective propaganda by celebrating only the votes in favor on social media.

A Session of Tension

The session, requested by the Cuban regime—marking the first time Havana resorted to this extraordinary mechanism outside the annual October cycle—was characterized by a tense exchange between Rodríguez and U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz.

Waltz presented photos of over 800 Cuban political prisoners and declared, "This is not Havana. This is the United States of America. This is the UN. And we will speak. We will be heard, and we will not be silenced like your own people."

Rodríguez interrupted with a retort referencing the 2025 scandal where Waltz accidentally leaked bombing plans for Yemen in a messaging chat: "This is the UN General Assembly, not a Signal chat."

Economic and Political Context

The U.S. also pointed out that the session's cost—$84,000—could have fed 3,500 people, directly criticizing the regime's priorities while Cuba faces its third total collapse of the National Electric System this year, with blackouts exceeding 24 hours in many areas.

Tablada consistently follows a pattern: in April, during an interview with NPR, she blamed the U.S. for Cuba's structural crisis and warned that the Island is "ready" for military confrontation. In February, she likened Cuba to a "house" threatened by "bullies" cutting basic services, ignoring that regime leaders live in the luxury they deny their people.

The diplomatic context of the session also involved a leaked cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, published on July 2 by The Nation, instructing U.S. embassies worldwide to pressure governments and block the debate, categorizing countries with different directives.

The drop from 187 votes in 2024 to 136 on Tuesday, with 30 countries choosing to abstain rather than support the regime, is the fact that Tablada, Díaz-Canel, and Rodríguez chose to hide in their narrative of a "resounding victory."