Latest news with #CubanAmericans
Time of India
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Miami's mystery billboards: All about the billionaire who was once a Republican, and is now targeting them in Florida
Billionaire philanthropist Michael B. Fernández, formerly a Republican, is funding an ad campaign to challenge Cuban American Republican members of Congress in Florida. He aims to highlight parallels between the politicians' actions and the authoritarian regimes that Cuban Americans fled. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Who was paying for the ads, billboards? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads After months of anonymity, the identity of the person behind the mysterious billboards and digital ads which surfaced in April, difficult for Miami's drivers, internet surfers and social media users to miss, targeting Republicans has been revealed."Deporting immigrants is cruel," one said, featuring the faces of Cuban American Republicans in Congress. More ads followed, most recently trying to denounce the politicians for a new state-run immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz." Fernández , a billionaire philanthropist and chair of MBF Healthcare Partners, a private investment firm based in Coral Gables, Florida, told The New York Times on Friday that he hopes to "wake up the conscience" of Miami residents—particularly fellow Cuban Americans. He expressed concern that many are overlooking the similarities between the authoritarian leaders they once fled and what he sees as the declining state of democracy in the United States."We are seeing a replay of what I saw when I was 12 years old and left Cuba," Fernández told is a former Republican who left the party more than a decade ago to register without party affiliation, reported ad campaign, backed by the political group Keep Them Honest , has turned Fernández into a rare voice of dissent in a state that has shifted sharply to the right. This conservative wave has swept through Miami-Dade County, despite the region being home to some of the nation's highest concentrations of foreign-born residents, many of them Hispanic. Republicans have stood by former President Donald Trump's tough stance on illegal immigration, framing it as essential for upholding the rule of law amid a surge in border crossings in recent immediate goal is to help oust in next year's midterm elections at least one of the state's three Cuban American Republican members of Congress: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos A. Gimenez and Maria Elvira three Republicans, however, have not entirely supported the White House's immigration crackdown. They have pushed back against the administration's move to strip deportation protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, a rare instance of dissent between congressional Republicans and Trump. Salazar has also noted that she filed legislation to provide some immigrants a path to legal status, though the effort has not gained much said he had privately persuaded more than 30 donors, about a third of them Republicans, to contribute since April to Keep Them Honest. As a "dark money" group, Keep Them Honest can fund issue ads and does not have to disclose its would like more of them to speak publicly but is not sure if they will for fear of retaliation. Fernández said he had received threats and lost investors, friends and close contact with some family members as a result of his political his estimation, Fernández donated more than $30 million to Republican candidates over the years, including small contributions in the past to Salazar, whom he is now targeting. He also served as finance co-chair of the 2014 reelection campaign of former Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, and donated millions to Jeb Bush's Republican presidential campaign in 2016. After Trump won that year's primary, Fernández endorsed Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, in the general family arrived in New York in 1965. He remembered how other immigrants in the city, from Mexico and Ireland, gave him snow boots and a coat. He later served as a paratrooper in the U.S. recently rescinded a $10 million donation to Miami Dade College and a $1 million donation to Florida International University, both public institutions. It was a response to state lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, repealing legislation from 2014 that allowed certain immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children to pay in-state tuition had forcefully lobbied for the original law, which hangs framed on his office wall. He said he was redirecting some of that money to a nonprofit that provides students lacking permanent legal status with scholarships to private schools."I have to leave a mark," he said, "an example to my family and my children."
Economic Times
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Miami's mystery billboards: All about the billionaire who was once a Republican, and is now targeting them in Florida
After months of anonymity, the identity of the person behind the mysterious billboards and digital ads which surfaced in April, difficult for Miami's drivers, internet surfers and social media users to miss, targeting Republicans has been revealed. "Deporting immigrants is cruel," one said, featuring the faces of Cuban American Republicans in Congress. More ads followed, most recently trying to denounce the politicians for a new state-run immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz." Fernández, a billionaire philanthropist and chair of MBF Healthcare Partners, a private investment firm based in Coral Gables, Florida, told The New York Times on Friday that he hopes to "wake up the conscience" of Miami residents—particularly fellow Cuban Americans. He expressed concern that many are overlooking the similarities between the authoritarian leaders they once fled and what he sees as the declining state of democracy in the United States. "We are seeing a replay of what I saw when I was 12 years old and left Cuba," said Fernández, 73, who is known as Mike. "It is beyond troubling. It is scary." Fernández is a former Republican who left the party more than a decade ago to register without party affiliation, reported NYT. The ad campaign, run by a political group called Keep Them Honest, has made Fernández something of an outlier in Florida, which has moved decidedly to the political right. That trend has occurred throughout Miami-Dade County, where several cities have some of the country's highest levels of foreign-born residents, most of them Hispanic. Republicans have defended President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration as necessary to ensure the rule of law after the number of migrants crossing the southern border surged in recent years. Fernández's immediate goal is to help oust in next year's midterm elections at least one of the state's three Cuban American Republican members of Congress: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos A. Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar. The three Republicans, however, have not entirely supported the White House's immigration crackdown. They have pushed back against the administration's move to strip deportation protections from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, a rare instance of dissent between congressional Republicans and Trump. Salazar has also noted that she filed legislation to provide some immigrants a path to legal status, though the effort has not gained much traction. Fernández said he had privately persuaded more than 30 donors, about a third of them Republicans, to contribute since April to Keep Them Honest. As a "dark money" group, Keep Them Honest can fund issue ads and does not have to disclose its donors. He would like more of them to speak publicly but is not sure if they will for fear of retaliation. Fernández said he had received threats and lost investors, friends and close contact with some family members as a result of his political involvement. By his estimation, Fernández donated more than $30 million to Republican candidates over the years, including small contributions in the past to Salazar, whom he is now targeting. He also served as finance co-chair of the 2014 reelection campaign of former Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, and donated millions to Jeb Bush's Republican presidential campaign in 2016. After Trump won that year's primary, Fernández endorsed Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, in the general election. Fernández's family arrived in New York in 1965. He remembered how other immigrants in the city, from Mexico and Ireland, gave him snow boots and a coat. He later served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army. He recently rescinded a $10 million donation to Miami Dade College and a $1 million donation to Florida International University, both public institutions. It was a response to state lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, repealing legislation from 2014 that allowed certain immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children to pay in-state tuition rates. Fernández had forcefully lobbied for the original law, which hangs framed on his office wall. He said he was redirecting some of that money to a nonprofit that provides students lacking permanent legal status with scholarships to private schools. "I have to leave a mark," he said, "an example to my family and my children."
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Miami Herald
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald reporter Nora Gámez Torres wins Maria Moors Cabot prize
Nora Gámez Torres, the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald reporter who has spent more than a decade chronicling the dramatic changes inside Cuba, including daily life amid a collapsing economy, has been awarded the prestigious Maria Moors Cabot Prize for career excellence. Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism announced Wednesday that Gámez Torres, a reporter with McClatchy newspapers, the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, is among this year's winners for 'her fair, accurate and groundbreaking journalism.' She will be awarded the Cabot Gold Medal, the university said, at a ceremony in October. Gámez Torres is the 17th Herald journalist to win the lifetime achievement prize, the oldest award in international journalism and the most prestigious for coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cuba-born journalist also joins a prestigious list of Cubans and Cuban Americans who have also been honored over the years by the Cabot jury for promoting inter-American understanding of life under Cuba's communist regime. 'For more than a decade, Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald correspondent Nora Gámez Torres has provided deeply reported, compelling coverage of Cuba, becoming the most authoritative voice on the island nation in the U.S. media,' the announcement said. Gámez Torres, who came to the Herald from academia, first joined el Nuevo Herald in 2014. Since then, her coverage has become a go-to resource for everyone from relatives living in the U.S. seeking information about what's happening on the island to policy hawks trying to carve out U.S. policy. Her essential coverage of U.S.-Cuba relations and historic developments on the island often beats Havana-based competition, although she has not been allowed inside Cuba for nine years, the Cabot jury noted. 'With Cuban media under tight government control, many Cubans also learn about events in their own country through her reporting,' said the judges. The Maria Moors Cabot jury highlighted Gámez Torres' reporting on the pivotal role that Cuban Americans in Miami played in the return of capitalist enterprises to Cuba; her exclusives on the Havana Syndrome illness that struck U.S. diplomats, and the arrest of a former U.S. ambassador in Miami who pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent for Cuba. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited her reporting during his confirmation hearing to become the Trump administration's top diplomat. During questioning about U.S. policy toward Cuba, Rubio referenced Gámez Torres exposé on how Cuba's military-run conglomerate, GAESA, has been hoarding billions of dollars in its secret accounts while the population suffers from electrical blackouts and starvation. Cuba runs one of the world's best intelligence services. Gámez Torres series, based on leaked documents, wasn't just a testament to her sourcing but her years of trusted reporting. The stories marked the first time internal information from GAESA's accounting system had been publicly disclosed. 'Nora embodies the spirit of courageous journalism that the Cabot Prize represents. Her work has consistently illuminated complex issues with depth, clarity and fearlessness,' said Alex Mena, executive editor of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald. 'We are incredibly proud to see her named a Cabot Prize winner. It is a well-deserved honor and a powerful recognition of the impact of her reporting.' In addition to her investigations on government mismanagement and corruption, Gámez's reporting portfolio includes stories on human rights violations and political repression inside Cuba. That includes stories on the unprecedented anti-government protests in July 2021, the surprising return of capitalism to the island and the historic exodus of Cubans fleeing extreme poverty and repression. As a result of her hard hitting reports, she has been a frequent target of attacks by Cuban state media and state security forces. 'It is with great gratitude that I accept the María Moors Cabot award, which is also a testament to the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald's commitment to covering Cuba and the Cuban American community in South Florida,' Gámez Torres said. 'Throughout my time at the Herald, I have been inspired and mentored by colleagues and friends who have won this prestigious award. And I am honored to continue the line of Cuba-born journalists who have received this distinction.' That list includes former Herald foreign correspondent and assistant world editor Juan Tamayo and former Herald publisher and former head of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Alberto Ibargüen, who received a special citation along with Cuban dissident and blogger Yoani Sanchez. While Cuba and the Cuban American diaspora are her speciality, Gámez Torres also reports on U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean. More recently, she has also been involved in reporting on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Gámez Torres, the Cabot jury said, 'keeps both governments in her sights; she reported on a Cuban woman who was detained while doing a routine ICE check-in and then deported, leaving a still breastfeeding daughter and American husband behind.' Gámez Torres has been part of winning investigative teams, including those behind the Panama Papers, the Odebrecht series and the Bribery Division series in partnership with other national and international media outlets. Her work has been recognized by the Florida Society of News Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and others. Gámez first studied journalism at the University of Havana, where she later taught Media Theory. She has a Ph.D in Sociology from City University of London and a Master of Science in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics.
Miami Herald
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
No veto on controversial election change. Miami mayor already signed it into law
Within hours of the Miami City Commission approving a controversial measure to postpone the upcoming November election to 2026 in order to move the city to even-year elections, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez had already signed the legislation into law. Suarez does not have a vote on the City Commission, nor is he required to sign commission legislation, which automatically goes into effect within 10 days if it's not signed or vetoed by the mayor. But a copy of the legislation obtained by the Miami Herald shows that Suarez signed the document on June 26 — the same day as the City Commission meeting. Suarez did not respond to questions asking why he opted to sign the legislation. But his decision to do so tracks with Miami Herald reporting that the mayor had been quietly lobbying behind the scenes in favor of the legislation, which was sponsored by Commissioner Damian Pardo. Pardo has argued that the change is a reform measure and that by moving the city to even-year elections, voter turnout will increase drastically while also decreasing election costs. But a side effect of the change is that it gives city commissioners and the mayor — who is termed out at the end of the year — an extra year in office. Commissioner Joe Carollo, a Pardo adversary who voted against the election date change, alleged that Suarez's involvement went beyond simply lobbying for Pardo's legislation. 'There's been a tremendous amount of backroom dealing on this whole thing, led by the mayor of the city,' Carollo said. 'It's not just that he was backing it, it was his idea originally — he got Pardo to play lapdog … to present the ordinance for him.' Pardo has denied that, saying the idea originated with him. Moving the election without voter approval has been a source of controversy in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier. 'The citizens of Miami deserve and are entitled to the right to make this decision, directly,' Uthmeier said in a June 25 letter to the city. 'Home to thousands of patriotic Cuban Americans who know better than most about regimes that cavalierly delay elections and prolong their terms in power, the City of Miami owes to its citizens what the law requires.' Uthmeier concluded his letter with a warning. 'If you nevertheless move forward with the proposed ordinance,' he wrote, 'my office reserves the right to consider taking all available actions to prevent this violation of law from occurring.' The state has not yet announced any formal action against the city.
Politico
30-06-2025
- Business
- Politico
Trump tees up tougher policy toward Cuba
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday reinstating all the sanctions against Cuba that his predecessor relaxed before leaving office and pursuing new measures against Cuban companies with ties to its military. The order largely reups a 2017 document Trump signed in Miami as an overture to the city's Cuban exile community, restoring its restrictions on travel to the communist island and its economic embargo. But Monday's order also directs the U.S. government to combat a web of companies allegedly operated by the Cuban military in contravention of U.S. sanctions. It orders the Secretary of State to identify entities which direct or indirectly conduct financial transactions that benefit Cuba's military or intelligence services. The 2017 iteration of the order only focused on GAESA's direct financial transactions. It's one of a number of actions Trump has taken against the Cuban government in his second term, and continues with his efforts to reverse Biden administration moves to improve the bilateral relationship with Havana. Trump has long shown a desire to satisfy Miami's Cuban exile community, which has largely supported him in elections and many of whom advocate for the U.S. to facilitate the ouster of the island's communist government. His secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is the son of Cuban immigrants and the president has named several Cuban Americans to top ambassadorships and other senior roles in his administration. On his first day in office, Trump ordered that Cuba be reinstated to the list of state sponsors of terror and restored a list of 'restricted entities' tied to the Cuban government which are subject to additional financial sanctions. The president later reimposed other measures that allow individuals, including Cuban exiles, to file claims against the Cuban government for property seized at the height of the Cuban revolution. The focus of Monday's order on the Cuban military's alleged business interests highlights the Trump administration's desire to use 'creative' means to punish Havana. The Miami Herald has reported that GAESA secretly operated remittance companies in contravention of U.S. sanctions, bringing in billions of dollars in revenue every year. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio targeted one remittance company, Orbit S.A., which was allegedly run by a former GAESA executive. Those indirect relationships have been used by Cuban exile politicians as evidence that GAESA is looking to evade sanctions. The Trump administration has also threatened to revoke the visas of Cuban officials and officials in other countries who violate the rights of Cuban doctors on state-organized medical missions, which provide Cuba with billions of dollars that it claims it directs towards its own healthcare system. It is unclear if any Cuban official has yet been punished under the auspices of that policy, though the State Department did revoke the visas of Central American officials on those grounds earlier this month. The Cuban government, which sharply denies longstanding allegations from the U.S. government and the Cuban exile community that Havana poses a national security threat to the United States and grossly violates human right, condemned the Trump administration measures Monday. On X, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla called the order 'criminal' and said it 'reinforces aggression and the economic blockade which punishes the entire Cuban people and serves as the principal obstacle for our development.'
