U.S. Ousts Cuban After Havana Expels American

The United States said Monday night that it was expelling a Cuban diplomat in response to the expulsion of a U.S. envoy from Cuba who had specialized in human rights issues.

The State Department disclosed in a written statement that Cuba last week revoked the visa of Robin Meyer, accusing her of carrying out activities “incompatible with her diplomatic status”--diplomatic parlance for spying.

“We categorically reject that assertion and protest in the strongest terms the Cuban government’s action in requiring her to leave,” the State Department said. It said Meyer was given until Wednesday to leave Cuba.

In response, the State Department said it had informed the Cuban government Monday that it was taking reciprocal action against Jose Luis Ponce Caraballo, a diplomat accredited to the Cuban Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Washington.

Ponce Caraballo will be required to leave the United States within a week, the State Department said without accusing him of wrongdoing.

During two years in Cuba, Meyer had openly met with representatives of human rights and independent professional groups throughout the island, “providing moral support and distributing published information,” the State Department said.