26 February 2000
(Diplomat refused to depart voluntarily earlier in the day) (230) State Department Spokesman Jamie Rubin late on the evening of February 26 issued a statement saying that the Cuban diplomat who had been declared persona non grata by the United States a week ago had now been escorted by the FBI to National Airport where he was put on a plane and expelled from the United States for not voluntarily departing by the appointed time. The diplomat, Jose Imperatori, had been ordered to leave by 1:30pm EST on February 26 but had refused to do so. Following is the State Department text: (begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman February 26, 2000 Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman At 8:45PM EST today, the Cuban diplomat we declared persona non grata on February 19 was escorted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Washington National Airport, from where he departed the United States. The diplomat in question no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities conferred by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. He has been expelled from the United States for not voluntarily departing by the appointed time. We do not have any further comments on this case. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)