MIAMI.– The Council of Hialeah, the city with the most Cuban residents in the United States, in its last regular meeting unanimously approved two resolutions aimed at curbing the influence of the Havana regime in South Florida.
Both resolutions received the green light on second reading this Tuesday, June 11, and were sponsored by Councilman Bryan Calvo and co-sponsored by Mayor Esteban Bovo.
The first of the initiatives prohibits the City from granting contracts, financed funds, and subsidies to companies that facilitate or help facilitate recreational trips and leisure vacations in Cuba.
The second is a condemnation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for failing to inform City and County officials about the recent visit of a Cuban delegation to Miami International Airport.
“What motivates this resolution is the business that we see in our community under the name of Cubamax, specialized in shipping packages to Cuba and that coordinates trips to the island,†Calvo said at the meeting of the city's legislative body.
According to Calvo, “the owners of Cubamax, Mr. Hugo Cancio and Mr. Carlos Trujillo, met with Díaz-Canel when he visited New York to attend the United Nations. The lawyer for this business posted photographs with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. Cubamax also sponsored the San Remo music festival in Cuba, an event that was co-sponsored by Díaz-Canel's wife, Lis Cuesta. “Cubamax members even use vehicles with state license plates in Cuba to deliver the packages that people send from Hialeah.”
The councilor stated that “although the resolution does not specifically mention Cubamax, it attempts to confirm that there is a brutal dictatorship in Cuba and make it clear that the Hialeah Council will take hostile measures against businesses that align and support the government of Cuba.” €.
“We can do it protected by the existing embargo of the US government that regulates travel and transactions with the government of Cuba at the federal level,†he explained.
The young politician, who ran for the position of tax controller in Miami-Dade, clarified that “we live in a free country, where everyone operates their business as they wish. What we are not willing to do is make concessions or changes to city codes to benefit these types of businesses and allow them to expand and grow.â€
The councilor also requested that the following clarification be included in the resolution: “The City will deny any privilege or concession that requires its approval to businesses linked to the Havana regime, whenever the law allows it.” .
The trigger for this controversy is that Cubamax requested permission from local authorities to maintain a light sign that violates city codes.
According to the Cubamax Travel website, this agency was founded in Hialeah in 2021 and currently has branches in different places in the US such as California, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Miami-Dade, Hialeah, Broward, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Cape Coral, Naples, Kissimmee, Key West, The Keys and Puerto Rico.
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