Mike Waltz Confronts Cuban Foreign Minister at the U.N.
A heated confrontation involving U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and Cuban officials has reportedly led to an expulsion order. According to a RedState report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed paperwork directing that Cuban diplomat Richard Tur de la Concepcion be removed from the United States.
Tur de la Concepcion served as the first secretary of Cuba’s delegation to the United Nations. The dispute unfolded during a debate over the longstanding U.S. embargo on Cuba. Waltz was describing how the Cuban regime was enriching its elites while ordinary citizens paid the price.
The remarks prompted Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla to interrupt Waltz. The report says Parrilla approached the podium and called Waltz a liar. Waltz responded forcefully, saying he would not accept what he viewed as an intimidation tactic on American soil.
“And I’m the representative of the United States of America. Back up! Back away. This isn’t Havana. You’re not going to intimidate me. Do you understand who you’re dealing with?”
The confrontation then moved beyond the exchange at the podium. According to the report, Tur de la Concepcion allegedly tried to grab the phone of J.P. Freire, the ambassador’s spokesman, as Freire recorded what was happening. The New York Post described the reported incident as an “assault.”
In a post about the incident, Waltz said a Cuban regime diplomat tried to pressure U.N. staff into cutting the microphones while he was speaking. When an American diplomat noticed what was happening, Waltz said, that same Cuban representative allegedly tried to intimidate him as well.
Waltz posted video and commentary about the confrontation on October 27, 2026.
The reported response from Washington was immediate and direct. During an appearance on Hannity, Waltz said that Rubio had signed the paperwork and that the Cuban diplomat would soon be sent back to Havana.
“He’s gone. He is going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours,” Waltz said.
Waltz also issued a warning about physical contact with an American representative inside the United States.
“You lay a hand on an American here in the United States, President Trump, Secretary Rubio and myself, we’re not gonna stand for it,” he said.
The broader point is that diplomatic status does not create unlimited protection from American law. United Nations members receive certain privileges inside the organization’s New York facilities, but those privileges do not exempt them entirely from U.S. or New York law. The alleged attempt to interfere with an American diplomat’s phone recording became part of the confrontation that preceded the reported decision to send the Cuban official back to Havana.
One of the Cuban regime’s “diplomats” tried to intimidate UN staff into cutting our microphones as I exposed the regime for the world to see.
When one of my American diplomats noticed what was happening, that same regime “diplomat” tried to intimidate him, too. pic.twitter.com/kmBlpMlPcY
— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) October 27, 2026