Miami’s Cuban Diaspora To Trump After Iran: Us Next

MIAMI — South Florida’s Cuban activists want the island nation’s communist government to be the Trump administration’s next target after the death of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran has created anticipation for quick action in Cuba across South Florida, with excitement evident in the streets: Several thousand people from the diaspora caravaned through Miami over the weekend in support of Trump toppling the government in Tehran.

The protestors organizing the event demanded subsequent “maximum pressure” in Cuba, including major repercussions for the island nation’s communist leaders. Many shared pictures and videos over social media of the event using the hashtag “#Cubanext.”

And on the heels of President Donald Trump declaring the U.S. could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, a coalition of more than 30 Cuban opposition and resistance organizations met in Miami on Monday to sign a “Freedom Accord” laying out their post-communism roadmap.

The document, which they also sent to the State Department, names the Communist Party of Cuba as a “criminal enterprise” and calls for its dismantling. It further outlines different phases to free, stabilize and rebuild Cuba — which would culminate in democratic elections.

“There's no reason to show them mercy, just as they haven't shown mercy to the Cuban people,” one of the activists who attended the signing, Alex Otaola, told POLITICO of Cuba’s leadership. Otaola was also the caravan organizer and is president of the Cuban Anticommunist Foundation.

The push for regime change in Cuba comes at a potentially fraught time for the Trump administration, which is now engaged in a conflict with Iran that’s engulfing other Middle Eastern countries in the region. Trump has for years railed against U.S. involvement in foreign wars but during his second administration has maximized U.S. force in Venezuela and Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who used to represent Florida in the Senate and is the son of Cuban immigrants, has led talks with Havana. The U.S. has launched a fuel blockade that — according to comments Trump made to reporters Friday — has left the county with no oil, food or money.

Asked for more details about where talks stand, a White House official responding to POLITICO said that: “As the president stated, we are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal. Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela and with Mexico ceasing to send them oil.”

Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo, who represents the city with the highest proportion of Cuban residents in the U.S., said his constituents had expected U.S. action in Cuba before Iran. Now, he said, “It's very clear that the administration is going to take kinetic action in multiple places at once.” Cuba, he said, “should be on the top of that list.”

“We have been waiting 67 years,” he continued, referring to the time that has passed since the Cuban Revolution. “So obviously we wish it happens as soon as possible, but I think we're going to see something probably before the midterms.”

Hialeah had an operational briefing a couple weeks ago with the city’s fire and police chiefs to prepare for how the city might be affected if action is taken against the island nation. The potential for leadership change in Cuba is also reverberating across the state in Tallahassee, where GOP state lawmakers filed an amendment to a foreign influence bill that would give the governor power to suspend laws restricting trade with Cuba if the Trump administration were to overthrow the communist leadership.

Elected officials have also in recent days pressed for answers about a shootout off the coast of Cuba involving a Florida-based speedboat, in which four people were killed and six others injured last week. Those supportive of the Trump administration’s actions have pointed to Iran as an example of the fate that could await Cuban leaders.

GOP Rep. María Elvira Salazar said the latest actions showed “tyrants are falling” and the message to Havana was “you’re next.” The White House should continue its pressure against Cuba, she said, and cut off any remaining financial lifelines.

“Cuba’s regime is definitely watching,” said Salazar, who represents parts of Miami-Dade County. “They saw Iran shake. They saw Maduro fall. Now they are witnessing the return of American strength, and that terrifies them.”

The Trump administration has closely aligned with congressional Republicans calling for hardline actions against Cuba. Foreign policy — particularly on Cuba and Venezuela — has been a key factor shaping the Hispanic electorate in South Florida, where the voting block has become increasingly Republican.

GOP Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, the most-senior member of Florida’s delegation, said his constituent’s support for the president was a reflection of the actions Trump has taken since his first term.

After the military strikes against Iran and the pressure campaign against Cuba, his constituents have said, “It’s about time” and expressed gratitude for the administration “standing up for U.S. national interests and against these really tyrannical regimes.” He added that “ideally” a transfer of power in Cuba would be “peaceful and nonviolent,” which he noted Trump has said he would consider. But he pointed to what happened with Maduro and Khamenei as what can otherwise happen.

The Cuban regime, Diaz-Balart predicted, “will not survive the second Trump term.”

Miami-area lawmakers have additionally called on the administration to prosecute Raúl Castro, a top Cuban political figure and the younger brother of Fidel Castro, for murder over the 1996 shoot-down of two planes belonging to the Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue volunteer group. The current Cuban president is Miguel Díaz-Canel, though major decisions are made among Communist Party leaders. That’s why many in the Cuban diaspora are calling for widespread accountability.

“The Cuban community would love to see Castro and Díaz-Canel ousted in a manner similar to Maduro's exit — jail!” said GOP state Rep. Ileana Garcia of Miami, who recently told her 100-year-old Cuban grandmother to “hold on a little longer so you can witness the liberation of Cuba.”

“It’s really disheartening to see the Cuban community suffering while the Cuban government negotiates their escape plan after decades of exploitation,” Garcia added.

Fellow Miami-area GOP state Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, who comes from a family of Cuban immigrants and started out in politics by helping with Rubio’s Senate campaign, praised the Trump administration for its “masterfully done” foreign policy. He said he’d love to see Cuba someday become a U.S. territory temporarily, like Puerto Rico, or even to reach statehood.

“If Trump were to take Cuba,” he said, “I think we'd have to rename the county to Trump-Dade County or Rubio-Dade County at that point.”