US expels a Cuban diplomat it accuses of assault, as support for the UN embargo resolution falls to a 30-year low

The US is expelling a Cuban diplomat after an extraordinary verbal clash at the UN¹. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the Trump administration is ejecting the diplomat from the United States³. Waltz accused the Cuban diplomat of assaulting an American official during a heated confrontation⁴. The diplomat is the first secretary at Cuba’s UN mission¹¹.

The expulsion follows a clash in which Waltz criticised Havana’s leadership and the two sides shouted at one another¹.

Support for the annual UN resolution against the US embargo on Cuba fell to a 30-year low⁶. The General Assembly voted on Wednesday to condemn the US economic embargo of Cuba for the 34th year, even as Washington stepped up its pressure¹⁰. The resolution passed overwhelmingly, defying the administration’s pressure¹⁰. Most nations voted to condemn the embargo⁷, but the US won over more countries², and some nations sat out the vote¹².

Why it matters to investors

The US has maintained a trade embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years, and the Trump administration has been stepping up the pressure^7,8. Last week President Donald Trump again raised the specter of US military intervention, with talk of US warships⁹.

Minutes before the vote in New York, Waltz denied that Cuba was under a blockade⁶. After the vote he told reporters that “diplomacy takes time”⁵. He also discussed the result in a television interview after the vote².

The expulsion comes alongside a lobbying push in which the US persuaded more nations to oppose the resolution^3,8.

What to watch

The first marker is Havana’s response to the expulsion of its first secretary¹¹. The US case rests on Waltz’s accusation that the diplomat assaulted an American official⁴.

The second is the vote trend. Support for the resolution is at a 30-year low⁶, and the administration has shown it can move votes^2,5.

The third is military pressure. Trump’s talk of US warships⁹ and the stepped-up campaign against Havana⁷ are the backdrop to the diplomatic clash¹.

The fourth is the countries that sat out. Some nations chose not to vote after the US push¹², which helped drive support for the resolution to its lowest level in 30 years⁶. Cuba lost support at the UN even as the resolution passed^10,11.