The Cuban-American congressman Carlos Giménez requested on Thursday that major U.S. airlines cancel all flights to and from Cuba, as he believes these operations financially benefit the dictatorship and pose a “threat to national security” for the United States.
Giménez, a member of the House of Representatives and chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, sent letters to the executives of American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and other companies operating flights to the island, warning that their business dealings with the Cuban regime “.”
In the documents, dated February 3, 2026, the legislator cites the recent executive order from President Donald Trump, which declared a national emergency in response to the “unusual and extraordinary threat” that the Cuban dictatorship poses to American security.
Giménez also recalls that the State Department keeps Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
"The Cuban regime has supported hostile actors, protected American fugitives, and aligned itself with adversarial governments that undermine our national interests," states the letter addressed to the executives of American Airlines and Delta.
Giménez warns that allowing regular flights between the United States and Cuba “provides the dictatorship with hard currency that only benefits its repressive apparatus and not the Cuban people,” and that continuing these operations “legitimizes and finances a government that oppresses its citizens, threatens regional stability, and works against U.S. security interests.”
The congressman also recalls that the Helms-Burton Act prohibits the United States from recognizing or legitimizing the Cuban regime as long as there are no verifiable advances toward democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
"The commercial air service undermines the purpose of that law by providing financial benefits and an international image to a regime that persists in repression," he wrote.
In a video shared on his social media, Giménez directly explained the purpose of his action: “I issued a letter to the major carriers operating flights to and from Cuba, asking them to halt these operations. These flights are generating millions of dollars in revenue for the regime, which continues to oppress its people and has been deemed an enemy of the United States and a sponsor of terrorism. I don't believe we should be doing any business with them,” said the congressman.
The legislator urged airlines to "cease providing aid and comfort to the communist regime in Cuba" and reiterated that maintaining commercial flights to the island contradicts decades of bipartisan U.S. policy supporting the Cuban people against their oppressors.
"United States cannot recognize or legitimize the Cuban dictatorship," Giménez stated, citing the spirit of the Helms-Burton Act.
"Allowing these flights contradicts the policy designed to stand with the Cuban people against their oppressors."
Giménez, the representative for District 28 of Florida—which includes the southern part of Miami-Dade and the Keys—has been one of the leading advocates in Congress for tightening measures against the Cuban regime and cutting off all sources of income that support it.
The congressman assured that his priority is to protect U.S. national security and support the Cuban people "who continue to suffer under a corrupt, brutal communist dictatorship."
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