USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 21 January 2025Marco Rubio Expels Cuban Diplomat Richard Tur de la Concepción After UN Assault
2 Western Mainstream1 Latin American1 Other1 West AsianPhoto: U.S. Department of State, Public domain · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Rubio signed expulsion papers for a Cuban diplomat accused of assault at the UN. Announced by U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz on Fox News.
Rubio signs expulsion
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the official documentation to expel a Cuban diplomat accused of assaulting a U.S. official at the United Nations headquarters in New York, according to Mike Waltz on Fox News’s Hannity program.
Mike Waltz told cameras that the expelled diplomat “He’s leaving. He’ll be aboard a plane bound for Havana within the next 24 hours.”
elTOQUE identified the diplomat as Richard Tur de la Concepción, the First Secretary of Cuba’s Permanent Mission to the UN and responsible for matters of the Fifth Committee, tasked with the budget and administration of the international body.
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla left his seat and moved toward the podium during the annual debate of the General Assembly on the U.S. embargo against Cuba, prompting General Assembly president Khalilur Rahman to briefly suspend the session and order the delegates to return to their places.
Assault and the shouting
J.P. Freire, a member of the U.S. team recording the confrontation, said he was confronted inside the General Assembly, and the episode included Tur attempting to snatch the phone and delivering a slap, according to elTOQUE.
Fox News reported that Waltz told Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla to “back up” as the Cuban foreign minister continued toward the podium while the president of the General Assembly attempted to restore order.
Tur de la Concepción attempted to snatch the phone from Waltz’s spokesman, J.P. Freire, who was recording the confrontation, and slapped him, according to CiberCuba.
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla called Waltz’s speech a “media circus” and posted his own version of the incident on social networks, presenting it as a response to Washington’s “lies.”
Deadline and diplomatic fallout
Mike Waltz framed the expulsion as a direct response to the incident and argued that President Trump, Rubio, and he himself would not tolerate assaults against U.S. officials. Cuba en Miami said Waltz asserted that the official should return to Cuba within 24 hours, while also noting the announcement set a deadline for the diplomat’s departure without confirming he had left the country.
DIE WELT said Waltz warned the Cuban, “If anyone here in the United States lays a hand on an American, President Trump, Secretary of State Rubio, and I will not tolerate it.” Cuba en Miami said the dispute moved from shouts in the General Assembly to a demand for the United States to withdraw, as attention turned to the execution of the expulsion announced and Havana’s response to a diplomatic crisis.