US Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Marco Rubio and Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, and Carlos A. Giménez in issuing a formal letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, expressing outrage and demanding answers after reports surfaced that a high-level Cuban Communist Party operative had gained entry into the United States.
According to the letter, longtime Cuban Communist Party member Manuel Menendez Castellanos was allegedly allowed to enter the U.S. through Miami International Airport despite his history of ties to the Cuban dictatorship.
Menendez Castellanos is reported to have held multiple key roles within the Communist regime, including membership in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and a leadership position in Fidel Castro’s notorious “coordination and support team.”
Citing U.S. immigration law (INA 212(a)(3)(D)(i)), which prohibits entry to individuals affiliated with totalitarian regimes, the lawmakers questioned how Menendez Castellanos was allowed to enter the country and demanded an investigation into whether legal protocols were followed.
“We are outraged that an individual with a role in oppressing the Cuban people for decades was permitted the extraordinary privilege of U.S. entry so that he could spend his retirement in freedom and comfort,” the lawmakers wrote, asking for a review of the case and actions to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The group awaits a prompt response from Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas on the issue.
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