The immigration attorney Willy Allen warned that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will need to demonstrate to a judge that Adys Lastres Morera —sister of the executive president of GAESA and detained in Miami last Wednesday— was cooperating with the Cuban dictatorship, as mere familial ties do not constitute sufficient evidence to justify her deportation.
"The mere fact of being the sister of a general, without anything else, should not lead to your arrest and deportation," Allen stated in an interview with Tania Costa.
The lawyer emphasized that the detainee has the full right to defend herself in an immigration court and that the burden of proof lies with the government, not her. "You don't have to prove your innocence; the government has to prove your guilt. That's the great thing about living in a democratic country," he stated.
Regarding Rubio's public statements, who claimed that Adys Lastres Morera was supporting the communist regime in Havana, Allen was straightforward: he must prove that she was assisting the regime in Havana.
The lawyer clarified that having two companies in Florida—public records link them to Sta Elena Investments LLC and Remas Investments LLC—or managing properties in Havana does not, by itself, constitute evidence of ties to the regime. "Having two companies in the United States, and I believe one is in real estate, is not a crime," he noted.
Allen also rejected the idea of deporting someone solely based on family ties. "I am not willing to at this moment remove everyone from outside just because they are a relative, a friend, or a cousin, a brother, whatever it may be, and say, well, you are a brother, go," he stated.
The lawyer clarified, however, that his position does not imply tolerance towards those repressive individuals from the regime who reside in the United States. "I hate the idea that those who messed up my country come to retire in the United States and are collecting a pension here, going to Jackson Hospital here, receiving assistance here, when they wrecked Cuba," he expressed, recalling that he was one of the first advocates of the "Identify the Repressors" program almost eight years ago.
Rubio revoked the permanent residency of Adys Lastres Morera on May 20 under section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a rare legal provision that allows the Secretary of State to initiate deportation proceedings when he deems that the presence of a foreign national poses serious consequences for foreign policy.
Adys Lastres Morera entered the United States on January 13, 2023, as a permanent resident through a petition from her son, an American citizen. Her sister, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, presides over the military conglomerate GAESA, which controls between 40% and 70% of the Cuban economy and manages up to $20 billion in assets according to U.S. authorities.
«If the Secretary of State is correct, they should be dismissed, let them go. But if the Secretary of State is not correct in this case, let's leave them alone,» concluded Allen.
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