North Miami-Dade News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislators Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), María Elvira Salazar (FL-27), and Carlos A. Giménez (FL-28) along with Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas condemning the decision to allow a high-ranking official from the Communist Party of Cuba entry into the United States.

Read the full letter in English here or in Spanish below:

Dear Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas,

We write to express our profound disgust at reports indicating that a high-ranking official with a long history in the Cuban Communist Party managed to obtain the special privilege of entering the United States. Additionally, within all applicable norms and regulations, we request an evaluation of law enforcement in this case and if not, inform us about ongoing processes to ensure that a similar error does not occur again.

According to press reports, including a video published by journalist Mario J. Pentón, high-ranking Cuban Communist Party official Manuel Menéndez Castellanos entered the United States through Miami International Airport last week. Press reports indicate that Manuel Menéndez Castellanos was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, part of the Workers' Central in 1972, First Secretary of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos (1993 and 2003), deputy in the National Assembly for years, as well as being part of Fidel Castro's notorious "coordination and support team."

Section INA 212(a)(3)(D)(i) states: "Any immigrant who is or has been a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party (or subdivision or affiliate thereof), national or foreign, is inadmissible." The USCIS website expands on this provision stating: "In general, any immigrant who is or has been a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party (or subdivision or affiliate thereof), national or foreign, is inadmissible" (Chapter 3 - Membership in Totalitarian Parties | USCIS). Given this prohibition under U.S. law, it seems likely that a senior member of the Cuban Communist Party and agent of that brutal dictatorship would be inadmissible for entry into the United States.

We are outraged that an individual with a role in oppressing the Cuban people for decades was allowed the extraordinary privilege to enter the United States so he can enjoy his retirement in freedom and comfort. For these reasons, we request an evaluation within legal frameworks and actions detailing measures to ensure senior officials from Cuba's Communist Party are deemed inadmissible according to law.

Thank you for your attention to this matter of utmost importance; we look forward to your prompt response.

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