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As media outlet PJ Media reported, the Cuban delegation responded to Waltz's remarks with an epic shouting match, culminating in a Cuban diplomat allegedly shoving an American diplomat. Apparently, exposing the perks of the proletariat's supposed champions is grounds for a diplomatic incident.
Now one of Cuba's representatives is preparing for an involuntary change of scenery.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an order expelling Richard Tur de la Concepción, the first secretary of Cuba's mission to the U.N., who allegedly shoved an American diplomat during the confrontation at U.N. headquarters. Waltz announced the expulsion before sitting down with Fox News to explain that Cuba's diplomatic privileges apparently do not include free swings at American officials.
"He's gone," Waltz told Fox News. "He is going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours."
Asked where the Trump administration stands, Waltz made its position abundantly clear.
"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. Mike happens to be a decorated Green Beret and Army Special Forces soldier, so it's a good thing the Cuban didn't attack him directly lest he get handed his butt in spades.
Cuban officials, meanwhile, have remained silent about the expulsion, presumably busy consulting the revolutionary handbook for a chapter titled What To Do When The Americans Actually Enforce A Consequence.
The confrontation began over a non-binding resolution demanding an end to the U.S. economic, commercial, and financial embargo on Cuba, scheduled for a vote Wednesday. According to the New York Post, Waltz used his speaking time to expose the economic arrangement behind Cuba's supposedly egalitarian paradise: a ruling class enjoying real estate, luxury watches, and private jets while ordinary Cubans endure blackouts, shortages, and the exciting daily adventure of discovering which necessities are unavailable today.
To illustrate the arrangement, Waltz held up a photograph of Che Guevara wearing a Rolex worth roughly $40,000. The revolutionary icon, famous for preaching equality, apparently understood that some watches are more equal than others.
"According to the regime's own statistics, that would pay for 55 years of an average Cuban wage," he said.
Waltz then produced a second photograph, this time featuring current Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The man currently overseeing Cuba's socialist paradise was also sporting a Rolex, suggesting that the revolution's commitment to eliminating class distinctions has developed a few highly exclusive exceptions.
"It didn't just start with Castro," Waltz said. "This is the current Cuban president, also with a Rolex on."
That was apparently the moment the Cuban delegation decided that international diplomacy had become intolerable. Delegates began banging on their desks, presumably hoping to drown out the sound of their own government's luxury-watch collection being discussed in public.
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| Che with his $40,000 Rolex: Communism was berry, berry good to him |
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla rose from his seat, marched toward the podium, and demanded that General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman call Waltz to order under Rule 71. Waltz turned toward the agitated delegation.
"He doesn't like hard truths," he told them. "You can come and intimidate all you want."
Rodríguez continued toward the podium, but Waltz refused to surrender his place. The encounter was beginning to resemble a hostage negotiation in which the hostage had just discovered that the captors were wearing Rolexes.
"You understand who you're dealing with? This is America. Back up!" Waltz shouted.
U.N. officials scrambled to restore order, while Rahman threatened to suspend the session. Waltz, however, continued speaking, apparently unwilling to let the proceedings be derailed by a government whose preferred response to criticism involves intimidation rather than answering questions.
"He's not going to intimidate me in the United States of America — like he tries to intimidate political prisoners," he told the Assembly.
After another round of desk-banging, Waltz resumed his speech, delivering a reminder that the United Nations is not technically an extension of the Cuban Communist Party's central committee.
"This is America, my friend," he said. "This is the United Nations. This isn't your communist dictatorship. You cannot silence me."
Richard Tur de la Concepción now has a plane ride to Havana ahead of him, where he can presumably explain how a diplomatic mission intended to defend Cuba's interests wound up producing an expulsion order, an international spectacle, and an unexpectedly expensive lesson in personal space.
The revolution may promise to abolish the ruling class, but it apparently never promised to abolish its Rolex collection. And after Tuesday's performance, one Cuban diplomat has discovered that the United States is not obligated to let him stay just because he has a fancy title and a seat at the U.N.
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