North Miami-Dade News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with a copy to Benjamin Ziff, Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, demanding the revocation of Manuel Menéndez Castellanos's visa. Menéndez Castellanos is a former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Cienfuegos and recently arrived in the United States on an immigrant visa.

"The Cuban regime is the worst perpetrator of human rights abuses and civil liberties violations against its own people. U.S. visas are reserved for victims of the regime, not for perpetrators," stated Salazar.

“Given that Manuel Menéndez Castellanos worked so hard to defend communism, he should spend his retirement living under a communist system,” wrote Representative Salazar. “Do the right thing and cancel Manuel Menéndez Castellanos’s visa immediately; he does not deserve to spend his retirement in freedom.”

Local media reported that Menéndez Castellanos arrived at Miami International Airport on August 16, 2024, as a beneficiary of an immigrant visa through family reunification. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos for ten years and was a member of the National Assembly from 1998 to 2008. He was one of Fidel Castro’s close associates as part of the Coordination and Support Team and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.

"It is unthinkable that someone who spent their life and career subjugating the Cuban people in the name of communism should be allowed to benefit from the fruits of American freedom and capitalism," said Salazar. "Secretary Blinken must revoke his visa immediately."

For more information or to read Representative Salazar's letter, click here.

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