Rubio Orders Cuban Diplomat Expelled After UN Scuffle With U.S. Aide

The Trump administration is expelling a Cuban diplomat accused of shoving and trying to assault a member of the U.S. delegation at the United Nations, according to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, who announced the move Tuesday night on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

Waltz said Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the paperwork just before the interview. “He’s gone. He is going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours,” Waltz said, according to Fox News. He added a warning, as quoted by CubaHeadlines: “If you lay a hand on an American here in the United States, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and I will not tolerate it.”

Mike Waltz reveals on 'Hannity' that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed paperwork to expel a Cuban diplomat accused of shoving and attempting to assault an American diplomat.

"He's gone. He is going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours," Waltz says.

The… pic.twitter.com/4TBHh4sl6i

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 28, 2026

Waltz did not name the diplomat on air, according to 14ymedio. Telemundo 51 and the Hindustan Times identified him as Richard Tur de la Concepción, the first secretary of Cuba’s permanent mission to the U.N.

What happened on the floor

The confrontation took place Tuesday during the General Assembly’s annual debate on Cuba’s resolution condemning the U.S. embargo, according to CubaHeadlines. As Waltz spoke, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla left his seat and approached the podium, and General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman briefly suspended the session and told delegates to return to their seats, the outlet reported.

During the commotion, Tur de la Concepción tried to grab the phone of Waltz’s spokesman, J.P. Freire, who was recording the scene, according to the Hindustan Times. 14ymedio reported that the Cuban diplomat swatted at Freire’s phone three times. Video of the encounter was shared by Waltz on social media, CubaHeadlines reported.

ADN Cuba reported that Waltz had been criticizing the privileges of the Castro family, corruption among Cuba’s ruling elite and political repression on the island when the Cuban delegation interrupted him.

Havana’s side

Cuba is telling a different story. Shortly before the incident, the Cuban delegation sent a letter to the U.N. secretary-general accusing Freire of “harassment” and of filming Tur de la Concepción without his consent from less than a meter away, according to 14ymedio, which said the letter was signed by Ernesto Soberón Guzmán.

Rodríguez dismissed the episode as a “media circus” and accused Washington of lying, according to CubaHeadlines.

That framing is hard to square with the administration’s position. In Waltz’s telling, a foreign official put his hands on an American diplomat on U.S. soil, and the response was removal from the country within a day. The message from the administration, as Waltz put it on air, is that such conduct will not be tolerated.

Embargo vote today

The expulsion lands as the General Assembly is scheduled to vote again Wednesday on Cuba’s resolution against the U.S. embargo, according to ADN Cuba. The outlet reported that last year’s version passed with 165 votes in favor, seven against and 12 abstentions.

ADN Cuba also reported that Havana has promoted Tur de la Concepción as a candidate for the U.N.’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for 2027-2029, with that election expected in November. The outlet said the expulsion raises questions about that candidacy.

The State Department has not publicly released the expulsion paperwork, and Waltz’s on-air account is the administration’s only public description of the order so far.

Sources

• Fox News on X: Waltz on “Hannity”
• Hindustan Times
• Telemundo 51
• 14ymedio
• CubaHeadlines
• ADN Cuba

Reporting by Daily Beltway.