The Uruguayan-American influencer and activist Carlos Eduardo Espina, who resides in Houston, Texas, and is openly democratic, sparked controversy on Wednesday by posting on X that "the vast majority of Latinos outside of Florida have a negative opinion of Cubans from Miami," in a tweet that garnered over 439,000 views and nearly 14,000 likes.
The comment arrived on the same day that the midterm elections were held in the United States, a day on which Democrats achieved historic victories in Texas — including Gina Hinojosa's election as the first Latina governor of the state — while Florida held firm as a Republican stronghold.
Espina, who celebrated the results in Texas and expressed sadness over the outcome in Florida, pointed directly to Marco Rubio as the target of her argument: "The people who say that Marco Rubio will win the Latino vote if he runs for president clearly do not understand" this supposed animosity towards Cubans in Miami.
In response to the immediate criticism he received, the influencer affirmed his stance: "Those upset about this can debate all they want. Just go ask any Mexican or Central American in Texas, Nevada, etc., if they would vote for a Cuban Republican from Miami, and you'll see that I'm right."
Telemundo 51 captured the comment in a reel that exceeded 306,000 views and garnered over 4,400 comments, presenting it as an open question to the public. In the video, Espina says, "What our people hate the most is a traitor, someone who forgets how they arrived in this country."
Journalist Ernesto Morales responded with a direct criticism on Facebook, labeling Espina as an "ignorant" empowered by social media and the establishment of a party that "fires off fake news in bursts" to monetize its audience.
"To ask Carlos Eduardo Espina where he got that information is pointless. It is based solely on his own opinion, and he presents that opinion as a verifiable fact," wrote Morales, who went even further: "The highest-level democrats in this country also have their own Alex Jones. It is this one."
Espina's claim lacks support from surveys or cited data; it is, as Morales points out, a personal opinion elevated to the status of fact.
The political context provides clues about the origin of the comment. The Latino vote has moved 21 points away from the Republicans compared to 2024, with 64% voting Democratic in this midterm election. However, among Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade, the picture is radically different: the FIU Cuba Poll 2026 places Rubio ahead in preferences for the Republican nomination in 2028 with 58% support, far ahead of any other name.
This is not the first time that Espina has generated controversy with statements about Cubans. In September 2023, he claimed that "many Latinos do not want Cubans in the United States" due to their support for politicians with anti-immigrant measures, and in August 2026, he boasted that Cubans followed him "en masse" because "he has always been real with them."
Rubio himself dismissed on Wednesday any suggestion that he would leave the government to prepare a presidential candidacy, stating that staying until the end of his term has "always been" his plan.
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