Mike Waltz Says Cuban Diplomat in Angry UN Confrontation Has Been Expelled - Newsweek

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed paperwork to expel a Cuban diplomat accused of shoving and attempting to assault an American diplomat.

Speaking on Fox News' Hannity, Waltz said the diplomat would be sent back to Cuba within 24 hours. "He's gone. He is going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours," Waltz said.

The announcement follows a heated confrontation on Tuesday between U.S. and Cuban officials at the United Nations, where Waltz accused representatives of the Cuban government of attempting to disrupt his speech.

Waltz, who was President Donald Trump's national security adviser before taking up his post at the U.N., was presenting a speech in which he alleged Cuban government officials had benefited from "generations of hardworking Cubans."

"Well, we know. We know where it went. And today we are here to share it to the world," Waltz said as he accused Cuba's government of enriching its leaders while its people suffered.

"Havana would have you believe everything in Cuba has just disappeared," he said, before the Cuban delegates began banging on the desks and shouting over Waltz.

Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba's foreign minister, approached the stage, saying that Waltz's speech was "a violation of the procedural rules of this general assembly."

"This is America, my friend. This is the United Nations. This is not your communist dictatorship. You cannot silence me or you cannot silence my colleagues," Waltz responded.

As Rodríguez kept interrupting the speech, saying Waltz was breaking the rules, the U.S. diplomat called on U.N. officials to restore order.

"This individual needs to back away from this podium," Waltz said during the confrontation. "He's not going to intimidate me in the United States of America."

"I'm the representative of the United States of America," he continued. "Back up! Back up, Ambassador. Back away! This isn't Havana."

"Do you understand who you are dealing with?" Waltz said, addressing the Cuban delegates directly, who were now standing on the stage where he was speaking. "This is America. Back up!"

Newsweek has contacted Waltz and Rodríguez for comment via email outside normal working hours.

On X, Waltz wrote: "The Castro regime has profited at the expense of the Cuban people with luxury cars, expensive watches and a private island resort.

"As I shared this with the world, regime thugs rushed the stage to interrupt my speech. They can intimidate their own people in Cuba but think again about trying that nonsense in the United States of America."

The incident took place during the General Assembly's annual debate on the decades-long U.S. embargo against Cuba, where Waltz called on member states to oppose a resolution seeking to end the restrictions.

He accused Cuba's communist government of enriching itself while attributing the hardships faced by Cubans to domestic corruption and political repression, rather than U.S. policy.

After Cuba was allowed to speak, its foreign minister accused Waltz of lying and called on the president of the General Assembly to intervene.

"Mr. Waltz is lying yet again," he said, arguing that the U.S. ambassador's comments were "beneath the dignity of this forum and member states" and amounted to an insult to Cuba's government and people.

On Tuesday, Rubio—who also serves as the Trump administration's national security adviser—shared a satellite infographic of Cayo Piedra, a private island south of Cuba reportedly associated with the country's infamous political Castro family.

"Private island of corrupt regime in Cuba," Rubio wrote on social media, reinforcing the criticism Waltz had directed at Cuba during a General Assembly session hours earlier.

The infographic, titled "Castro's Cay," labels several features on the island, including the main house, a guest house, a swimming pool, a helipad, a dock, a floating restaurant and a dolphin enclosure.

It also marks a missile launcher in the island's northern area.

Relations between the U.S. and Cuba have deteriorated since Trump returned to the White House in 2025.

The president has described Cuba as a "failed country" and previously raised the prospect of a "friendly takeover" of the island, which has been grappling with an economic crisis for months.

Cuba has long depended on fuel imports from Venezuela, but supplies have been disrupted by the Trump administration since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January. Maduro is being held in New York as he awaits trial on drug trafficking charges.

Last month, Rodríguez condemned the U.S. blockade of the island, describing it as "economic asphyxiation" and "genocidal."

The escalating tensions have prompted speculation about whether Washington might seek to force a change of Cuba's government, as it did with Venezuela's.

Speaking at the United Nations last month, Trump called Cuba a "failed state," prompting the Cuban delegation to walk out.

Following the president's remarks, Rubio—who is of Cuban descent and has led U.S. engagement with officials on the island—said Washington was prepared to work with leaders whose "hands are not stained with blood" to bring about a change of government.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Shakeema Edwards.