Cuban Diplomat Ousted From US After UN Hall Altercation

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered a Cuban diplomat out of the United States after a confrontation at the United Nations. Mike Waltz, the US Ambassador to the UN, said the official was the first secretary of Cuba's delegation. The diplomat was scheduled to fly to Havana within a day of the order being signed.

Waltz said the incident involved physical contact. He accused the Cuban official of shoving and trying to assault an American diplomat. In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Waltz said the official would be on a plane to Havana within 24 hours. He repeated the timeline on Wednesday, saying the flight would happen that day. "You lay a hand on an American here in the United States, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and myself, we're not going to stand for it. There will be consequences," Waltz said Tuesday.

The removal followed a shouting match inside the General Assembly Hall during a Tuesday debate on the US economic embargo against Cuba. Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla traded words as the Cuban delegation struck a table and Rodríguez Parrilla called for a point of order. Rodríguez Parrilla approached the podium, and the two officials spoke over one another. Video from the exchange shows a Cuban diplomat swatting away a phone that was filming the scene. That official said the person recording was violating their personal space.

A State Department spokesperson said Wednesday that the individual was not welcome in the country and had left. The spokesperson described the conduct as intimidation and oppression tactics by members of the Cuban government. "Those tactics will not work, nor will they be tolerated," the spokesperson said. The Cuban Mission to the UN sent a letter to the UN Secretary General on Tuesday expressing concern about the filming. The mission wrote that a US diplomat entered a Cuban official's personal space to record video and post it online to damage that person's reputation. CNN has contacted the Cuban Mission for comment.

On Wednesday, the General Assembly voted 130 to 17 with 25 abstentions to condemn the US embargo against Cuba. The vote came as the Trump administration has raised economic pressure on Havana and increased talk of US action against the government. Rubio posted on X on Friday urging change in Cuba and inviting a partnership with the CIA. The agency released a Spanish-language video with instructions on contacting it securely shortly after that post. Two people familiar with the matter told CNN the CIA has been in preliminary contact with some Americans working on projects in Cuba, and those discussions predate Rubio's post.

Trump said at a South Florida rally that the US would deal with Cuba on the way back from Iran. "We'll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran," Trump said. "We'll do a little stopover." He said ships would stop off the coast before Rubio goes in to finish the work.