Richard Tur de la Concepción, the Cuban diplomat declared persona non grata by Washington just ten days ago after physically assaulting an American official at the UN headquarters, was elected this Friday by acclamation as an expert of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions of the United Nations (ACABQ) for the period 2027-2029.
The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla celebrated the outcome on X with "warm congratulations" to Tur, describing the election as "a new victory for Cuba and a recognition of his outstanding work in favor of multilateralism and the organization’s efforts." Tur himself thanked the MINREX and the Cuban mission team at the UN "for the tremendous work done in this election," reaffirming "the commitment to a strong management of the UN."
The appointment comes in a context that could hardly be more paradoxical: on October 27, during the annual debate at the General Assembly on the U.S. embargo against Cuba, Tur attempted to snatch the phone from J.P. Freire, head of Strategic Communications for the U.S. mission and spokesperson for Ambassador Mike Waltz, and struck out at him several times while he was recording the confrontation.
That same night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the expulsion order. Waltz announced on Fox News that Tur "would be on a plane heading to Havana within the next 24 hours," warning that "if you lay a hand on an American here in the United States, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and I will not tolerate it."
The State Department confirmed his departure from the country on October 29, labeling the Cuban regime as "incompetent" and its tactics as "intimidation and oppression." "We have made it clear to the Cuban mission that this individual is not welcome in the United States," stated a spokesperson for the institution.
Far from acknowledging the seriousness of the incident, the regime turned it into propaganda. First Deputy Minister Gerardo Peñalver Portal welcomed Tur at José Martí International Airport along with a dozen officials from MINREX. Days later, on November 2nd, MINREX organized a welcome event at its headquarters in Havana with about 40-50 attendees, where Rodríguez Parrilla described Tur's conduct as "firm and brave" and "an example for Revolutionary Diplomacy."
The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) added Tur to its list of Cuban repressors one day after the incident, also highlighting his alleged ties to Cuban intelligence: according to investigations by Martí Noticias and the FHRC, his father operated as an officer of the MII Intelligence Department under diplomatic cover in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Jamaica.
The ACABQ is a committee of 21 members elected in their personal capacity by the General Assembly—not as representatives of their governments—that advises on the budget and administration of the UN. Their election by acclamation implies that no other candidate competed for the position allocated to the regional group of Cuba, or that the members of the Assembly did not raise any formal objections.
The episode takes place during Cuba's worst diplomatic week at the UN in decades: the annual resolution against the embargo was approved on October 28 with 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions, the most adverse result for Havana since 1992, compared to the 187 votes received just two years prior.
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