CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN) - Local leaders spoke out following the entry of a high-ranking member of Cuba’s communist regime into the United States.
The controversy centers around Manuel Menendez Castellanos, a former top official in Fidel Castro’s government, who entered the U.S. through Miami International Airport (MIA) on August 15.
Menendez Castellanos has a long history within the Cuban government, having served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, the Central Workers’ Union in 1972, and as First Secretary of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos between 1993 and 2003. He was also a deputy in the National Assembly and a member of Fidel Castro’s notorious “coordination and support team.”
The Patmos Institute, a human rights organization, expressed serious concern over this development.
“The Patmos Institute observes with concern the alarming trend of the entry into the United States of those responsible for the communist system in Cuba…”
In a tweet shared by Senator Rick Scott, he highlighted the ongoing suffering of those still in Cuba.
“The reality is that while Cuban repressors arrive in the United States with total impunity, their victims in Cuba continue to suffer the horrors of Castroism as hostages,” read the post.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez joined the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba for a news conference on Tuesday to discuss the implications of Menendez Castellanos’s presence in the U.S. and call attention to other human rights violators who may be residing there.
“If they’ve been fighting so long for the regime, hey, enjoy the regime, OK, throughout your life, OK. Stay in Cuba,” Rep. Gimenez remarked. “We don’t need you here.”
“Why are you here? And why aren’t you following the law?” asked Rep. Gimenez. “[We want to] get a response for that and continue to pressure the U.S. government to follow the law and not allow these individuals here.”
Last week, Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting an evaluation of the legal procedures that allowed Menendez Castellanos to enter the U.S. The letter urges that if any legal provisions were violated, appropriate actions should be taken to address the situation.
7News reached out to the State Department for a statement.
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