Cuba-US Tensions

Published Wednesday, October 28, 6:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. Havana) · Source: US Ambassador Mike Waltz, UN General Assembly proceedings

A day after a shouting match in the 193-member United Nations General Assembly turned physical, Washington is sending a Cuban diplomat home. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, said Tuesday’s scuffle ended with Secretary of State Marco Rubio signing the expulsion order.

The move lands on the day the Assembly votes on its yearly call to end the decades-old US trade embargo on Cuba, and it adds a new chapter to our Cuba news coverage. Waltz said the diplomat shoved and tried to assault an American official, a charge Havana has not yet answered publicly.

How a Shouting Match Became an Expulsion

On Tuesday, October 27, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez interrupted Waltz during the embargo debate and accused him of lying. Assembly president Khalilur Rahman, who chairs this year’s session, briefly suspended the sitting, as we reported on Tuesday evening.

Later, Waltz told a US television audience that a Cuban diplomat had shoved and tried to assault an American official during the scene. “He’s gone,” Waltz said. “He is going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours.”

Waltz said Rubio had signed the expulsion paperwork. The State Department, the US government’s foreign ministry, has not published a statement that we could find as of this writing.

File photo: the General Assembly hall at UN headquarters in New York (Mojnsen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).

What Havana Has and Has Not Said

As of this writing, Cuba’s foreign ministry has not publicly commented on the expulsion itself. Rodríguez, for his part, rejected Waltz’s remarks in the Assembly.

No government has named the diplomat in an official statement, so we do not name them. Some outlets have named an official, but neither government has confirmed it.

Why This Reaches Beyond New York

The UN headquarters sits on US soil, and Washington controls the visas of every delegate who works there. That gives the United States a strong hand in any dispute with a delegation, and Cuba has few ways to answer in kind.

The expulsion also arrives as Washington tightens its Cuba policy and as Cuba struggles with fuel shortages and blackouts. Our explainer on Cuba and US tensions sets out the background.

What It Means for US Readers

For Americans, the episode shows how personal the Cuba file has become at the UN, and it may harden positions before today’s embargo vote. The vote itself is symbolic and changes no US rule on travel, trade or remittances.

Watch for a Cuban response, possibly a reciprocal expulsion, which is the usual diplomatic answer. Any such step would likely come within days.

What Is Not Known

We do not know the exact time of the scuffle or of the order, and no video has been independently assessed. Accounts differ on what physical contact took place, and the details come mainly from the US side, and no injury, police report or arrest has been reported.

We also do not know whether the diplomat has already left, or whether the measure is a formal expulsion or a demand to depart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who ordered the Cuban diplomat to leave?

Ambassador Mike Waltz says Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the expulsion paperwork. The State Department has not published a statement that we could find.

How long does the diplomat have to leave?

Waltz said the diplomat would be on a plane to Havana within 24 hours. We have not seen confirmation of a departure.

Sources: US Ambassador Mike Waltz (US Mission to the UN); UN General Assembly proceedings; UN News, the UN’s official news service.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error