A U.S. diplomat has been expelled from New Zealand, and no one will say why


After the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand told police they would not be allowed to interview a diplomat involved in a mysterious incident earlier this month, the staffer was expelled from the country.
Whatever happened took place on March 12 outside Wellington, the BBC reports. While police won't give any details and U.S. officials have only confirmed that the unidentified diplomat left on Saturday, New Zealand Radio says he departed the country with a black eye and broken nose. The 1961 Vienna Convention gives all diplomatic staff working in New Zealand immunity from prosecution, but the foreign ministry says it will pulll immunity "if there are allegations of serious crimes."
The U.S. Embassy said it doesn't comment on matters under investigation, but it takes "seriously any suggestion that our staff has fallen short of the high standards of conduct expected of U.S. government personnel."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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