Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to predict the collapse of Cuba's government, prompting walkouts and sharpening the view that Washington is escalating pressure rather than easing it.

• Trump said Cuba is a failed state under the heaviest pressure yet and will fall, while Marco Rubio runs talks with Havana.
• Cuba's delegation walked out; Iran's foreign minister and most of his team skipped the speech entirely.
• Trump also tied the Cuban government to left-wing groups inside the US, citing State Department findings.
• Critics counter that decades of the US embargo created Cuba's economic ruin, and that Rubio's Cuban-American background colors the policy.
• The same critique turns inward: record credit card debt and widespread poverty make the US look like a failing state too.

Outlook: Expect more pressure on Havana through Rubio's negotiations, with little sign of the embargo loosening.