North Miami-Dade News

Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Bill Huizenga (R-MI) have submitted a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, seeking clarification on how President Biden's proposed easing of financial sanctions on Cuba aligns with existing U.S. law. Reps. Carlos A. Giménez (R-FL) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) also signed the letter.

The lawmakers argue that the Biden Administration is exploiting what they term the "Mipyme Loophole" to bypass U.S. sanctions, by channeling funds to small businesses in Cuba which are often linked to the Cuban regime. They cite MadWoman, a Mipyme (small- and medium-size businesses, in Spanish) engaged by the U.S. Embassy in Havana, as an example of this practice. The company reportedly dismissed an employee for criticizing the communist government on his personal social media account.

The legislators contend that U.S. government funding should not be directed towards small businesses that suppress free speech and are under the control of the Cuban Regime.

"Despite the Cuban regime’s longstanding record of undermining U.S. national security and aligning with foreign adversaries such as Iran, China, and Russia, the Biden Administration has taken numerous steps to reopen relations with Cuba’s authoritarian regime since taking office," Reps. Salazar and Huizenga wrote in their letter. "Any efforts to diminish or circumvent the current embargo on Cuba are in contravention of U.S. law and play into the hands of our foreign adversaries, Russia and China, who are closely aligned with Cuba."

In January 2024, Chairwoman Salazar convened a hearing to scrutinize both the Cuban regime's promotion of a new "private sector" and what she perceives as the Biden Administration's uncritical acceptance of it. The hearing was a response to the Administration's plans to grant Cuban entrepreneurs with small- and medium-size businesses (Mipymes, in Spanish) access to the U.S. banking system.

Salazar expressed significant concern during the hearing about the Biden Administration's inability to adequately explain how they can ensure U.S. dollars are directed away from the regime and towards "independent business owners." Given that the regime controls all aspects of economic and political life on the Island, Salazar argued there is no way to guarantee that federal government funding is not supporting the regime, thereby violating U.S. law established by Congress and potentially strengthening our foreign adversaries.

The full text of the letter can be found here.