Trump administration kicks out Cuban diplomat from US as tensions rise

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the Trump administration is ejecting a Cuban diplomat from the United States amid soaring tensions between Washington and Havana.

The ejection comes after a shouting match erupted on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly Hall between Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla during a session on the US economic embargo against Cuba. It also comes as administration officials have again increasingly raised the specter of US action on the island.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “signed the paperwork to eject the Cuban diplomat, the first secretary of their delegation,” Waltz said Tuesday evening.

“He’s gone. He’s going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours,” Waltz said in an interview on Fox News. He accused the diplomat of shoving and trying to “assault one of our American diplomats.” Waltz reiterated in another Fox interview on Wednesday that the Cuban diplomat “will be on a flight back to Havana and out of this country today.”

“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.

“We have made clear to the Cuba Mission that this individual is not welcome in the United States, and as a result this individual has left,” a State Department spokesperson told CNN Wednesday. “Members of the incompetent communist Cuban regime showed their true essence through their intimidation and oppression tactics. Those tactics will not work, nor will they be tolerated.”

CNN has reached out the Cuban Mission to the UN for comment.

A heated exchange broke out between US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla during Tuesday’s UN General Assembly debate on the US embargo against Cuba.

Videos from the Tuesday show members of the Cuban delegation hitting a table and the foreign minister shouting for a point of order as Waltz spoke. Rodríguez Parrilla approached the podium, and the two began shouting over each other.

“This individual needs to back away from this podium. He’s not going to intimidate me in the United States of America like he tries to intimidate political prisoners,” Waltz yelled from the podium. “I’m the representative of the United States of America. Back up!”

Shouts calling Waltz a liar were heard. Another video shared by Waltz’s account on X showed a Cuban diplomat swatting away the phone taking the video, with that diplomat saying the person was violating their personal space.

Later Tuesday, the Cuban Mission to the UN sent a letter to the Secretary General expressing deep concern about that incident. In the letter, the Cuban mission said a US diplomat had invaded the Cuban diplomat’s personal space to film them and put the videos on social media with the intention of damaging the Cuban diplomat’s reputation.

On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelming passed a resolution condemning the longstanding US embargo against Cuba, 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions.

The Trump administration in recent months had ratcheted up economic pressure on Cuba as it sought to force changes to the Castro government. In recent days, however, they have also increased their public rhetoric about possible US intervention to oust the longtime government in Havana.

On Friday, Rubio posted on X , “To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time.”

‘The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA,’ he wrote.

The CIA has been in touch with at least some Americans engaging in projects on the island, but those discussions are largely preliminary and predate the Rubio post, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. It is unclear if the bold message from Rubio will drive more Cubans to engage with CIA in efforts to oust the island’s communist government, but the agency itself sent out a video in Spanish, moments after Rubio’s tweet, with step-by-step directions on how to securely contact the US spy agency.

President Donald Trump, speaking on the midterm campaign trail, has said 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. We’ll do a little stopover,” Trump said to a South Florida midterm rally crowd, repeating a claim he’s made several times. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships. We’ll pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands, and then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the game.”

CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed reporting.

香农·斯台普顿/路透社

美国驻联合国大使迈克·沃尔兹表示，由于华盛顿和哈瓦那之间的紧张局势不断升级，特朗普政府正在将一名古巴外交官驱逐出美国。

在联合国大会堂就美国对古巴的经济封锁举行会议期间，沃尔兹与古巴外长布鲁诺·罗德里格斯·帕里利亚发生激烈争吵，随后沃尔兹被驱逐出会。与此同时，美国政府官员再次不断暗示将对古巴采取行动。

沃尔兹周二晚间表示，国务卿马可·卢比奥“签署了驱逐古巴外交官，即古巴代表团一等秘书的文件”。

“他走了。他将在未来24小时内乘飞机返回哈瓦那，”沃尔兹在接受福克斯新闻采访时说道。他指责这位外交官推搡并试图“袭击我们的一名美国外交官”。沃尔兹在周三接受福克斯新闻的另一次采访中重申，这位古巴外交官“今天就会乘飞机返回哈瓦那，离开美国”。

“你胆敢在美国境内对美国公民动手动脚，特朗普总统、卢比奥部长和我，我们绝不会容忍。必将承担后果。”沃尔兹周二表示。

“我们已明确告知古巴使团，此人不受欢迎，因此他已离开，”美国国务院发言人周三告诉CNN。“无能的古巴共产主义政权成员通过恐吓和压迫手段暴露了他们的真面目。这些手段不会奏效，也绝不会被容忍。”

CNN已联系古巴常驻联合国代表团征求意见。

在周二联合国大会就美国对古巴的禁运进行辩论期间，美国驻联合国大使迈克·沃尔兹和古巴外交部长布鲁诺·罗德里格斯·帕里利亚之间爆发了激烈的争论。

周二的视频显示，当瓦尔兹发言时，古巴代表团成员拍打桌子，外交部长高喊程序问题。罗德里格斯·帕里利亚走上讲台，两人开始互相喊叫。

“这个人应该从讲台上退后！他休想像恐吓政治犯那样在美国恐吓我！”沃尔兹在讲台上大声喊道，“我是美利坚合众国的代表！退后！”

现场有人高喊沃尔兹是骗子。沃尔兹在X平台上分享的另一段视频显示，一名古巴外交官拍掉了拍摄者的手机，并称此人侵犯了其个人空间。

周二晚些时候，古巴常驻联合国代表团致函秘书长，对该事件表示深切关注。信中，古巴代表团指出，一名美国外交官侵犯了古巴外交官的私人空间，拍摄了他们的视频，并将视频上传至社交媒体，意图损害古巴外交官的声誉。

周三，联合国大会以压倒性多数通过了一项决议，谴责美国长期以来对古巴的禁运，赞成票 130 票，反对票 17 票，弃权票 25 票。

近几个月来，特朗普政府加大了对古巴的经济压力，试图迫使卡斯特罗政府改组。然而，最近几天，他们也加大了公开表态，暗示美国可能进行干预，推翻哈瓦那的长期执政政府。

周五，鲁比奥在 X 上发帖说：“对于那些希望在古巴创造积极变革的人来说——现在正是时候。”

他写道：“未能兑现的承诺、腐败以及少数人享有的特权生活令人失望；抓住这个机会，通过与中央情报局的秘密合作，创造你所渴望的改变。”

据CNN报道，两名知情人士透露，中央情报局已与至少一些参与古巴项目的美国人取得联系，但这些讨论大多处于初步阶段，且早于卢比奥的推文。目前尚不清楚卢比奥的强硬表态是否会促使更多古巴人与中央情报局合作，共同推翻古巴的共产主义政权。但就在卢比奥发布推文后不久，中央情报局就发布了一段西班牙语视频，详细指导如何安全地与该机构取得联系。

唐纳德·特朗普总统在中期竞选活动中表示，美国将在“从伊朗撤军的路上”处理古巴问题。

“我们会在从伊朗回来的路上顺便解决古巴。我们会稍作停留，”特朗普在南佛罗里达州的一次中期选举集会上对人群说道，重复了他多次说过的话。“实际上，我们打算从伊朗回来的时候顺便解决古巴。那些漂亮的船只。我们会经过古巴。我们会让其中一艘船在离海岸大约50码的地方停下。他们会举起双手，然后我们会派马可·卢比奥上来结束这场游戏。”

CNN记者凯莉·阿特伍德对此报道亦有贡献。