A new scandal erupted this Tuesday in Miami when it was revealed that an official delegation from the Cuban regime was invited and granted access to the control and security facilities of the International Airport of that city (MIA).
The fact caused an immediate reaction from Miami-Dade councilwoman Daniella Levine Cava, who issued a statement expressing her surprise at this visit by officials from the Cuban regime to strategic facilities in the city managed by her office.
"Like many in our community, I was surprised to learn that a delegation from the Cuban government was invited to visit the facilities of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at the Miami International Airport (MIA)," Levine Cava stated on social media."
According to his words, "the decision to allow Cuban officials to tour secure areas at MIA was made without the knowledge of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD)."
The affront to Miami-Dade County is twofold, according to Levine Cava, the unscheduled visit "occurred during the celebration of Cuban Independence Day, a date on which we reaffirm our commitment to freedom and democracy in Cuba in the face of a brutal dictatorship."
"My office has directly contacted the Department of Homeland Security to understand how this decision was made and to request that the county and MDAD be included in any future decisions related to granting access to MIA facilities to foreign government officials," he said.
Finally, the mayor wanted to reaffirm the county's strong support "for the Cuban people here in our community and on the island as they continue the fight to bring freedom to Cuba."
"We are committed to ensuring the safety of our community and all those who travel through our airport," Levine Cava's statement concluded.
On his part, the Cuban-American congressman Carlos A. Giménez denounced the Biden administration as responsible for a visit he considered "shameful and dangerous," pointing to the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, the Cuban-American and Democrat, Alejandro Mayorkas.
As National Security President in Transportation Security, I will hold the Biden Administration accountable for its shameful and dangerous decision to grant agents of the Castro regime access to sensitive TSA facilities at MIA, Giménez said.
Similarities with previous scandals
In February 2023, Cuban-American congressman Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed his "great concern" over the decision of the Departments of Homeland Security and State to receive a Cuban delegation at the United States Coast Guard (USCG) facilities in Washington DC and port facilities in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Finally, the U.S. government decided to suspend the visit to the Coast Guard headquarters, and the tour of the Cuban delegation was restricted to the port area of Wilmington, amidst a political controversy led by Cuban-American congressmen.
Days later, the Biden administration made clear that the cancellation of the Cuban officials' visit to the USCG headquarters in Washington was strictly due to a flight delay, and not due to pressure from representatives.
The Cuban delegation was expected to arrive in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, February 26, 2023, but it was delayed until Monday, February 27 due to a flight cancellation. "Due to the travel delay, the visit to the main Coast Guard station was canceled," stated an official from the Department of State to CiberCuba.
Likewise, he explained that "on March 1 and 2, officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba visited the United States to meet with USCG officials and tour the port facilities in Wilmington, NC, as part of the International Port Security Program".
In June 2019, leaked documents to this editorial revealed signs of espionage by the Cuban State Security at the Miami International Airport.
A report belonging to a special series of #CiberCubaleaks revealed that Cuba's intelligence services had managed to appropriate confidential information about the internal functioning, operational records of airlines, and access to restricted areas at MIA, according to classified documents from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) obtained by CiberCuba.
The intelligence documentation on the MIA is part of a batch of classified files provided by an anonymous source to this editorial team, containing hundreds of pages and multimedia files, bank transfers, contracts, emails, and private information of individuals of interest to the Cuban government, in what constituted one of the largest leaks of MININT's secret files in its entire history.
At least six documents with the letterhead of the Ministry of the Interior's Counterintelligence Directorate, dated between 2015 and 2017, contained sensitive information that was sent to Havana by Cuban regime agents in fulfillment of espionage and data collection missions.
The revelations exposed the Cuban intelligence's interest in a strategic facility on U.S. territory, which in 2022 broke its record for passengers served after receiving over 50.6 million travelers. This facility serves as the main gateway between the United States and Latin America, as well as the economic engine of South Florida, with annual revenues in the billions of dollars.
After the revelation, MIA's management responded to the report by CiberCuba. Lester Sola, MIA's director and CEO, stated in a release that they had shared the report with their federal intelligence partners, but clarified that so far they had not seen "anything that could allow access to secure areas or compromise the security" of the facility.
Likewise, he explained that "all possible measures have been taken to ensure the safety of our passengers. We have solid protocols to control access to all airport areas, and we will continue to investigate these and other possible threats."
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