escalante's nephew, pedro riera escalante, worked as a consul in the cuban embassy in mexico city from 1986 to 1991. in 2000, riera covertly left cuba and returned to mexico, where he requested asylum. his request was rejected by the mexican government and he was deported back to cuba. according to riera, his previous consular assignment in mexico was an official cover and he was, in fact, a cuban intelligence officer.