MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The U.S. State Department did not address the concerns that several outraged lawmakers in South Florida had about a “Cuban communist party operative” who was legally allowed to be in the United States.
The lawmakers, including four Cuban Americans, were reacting to a Marti Noticias report showing Manuel Menendez Castellanos at Miami International Airport. They signed an Aug. 21 letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
On Linkedin, Mendendez Castellano identifies as a “Senior Investment Consultant.” The U.S. lawmakers described him as “a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, the Central Workers’ Union in 1972, was First Secretary of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos (1993 and 2003), and a deputy in the National Assembly for years, as well as a member of Fidel Castro’s notorious “coordination and support team.
The U.S. State Department Press Office sent an e-mail to Local 10 News Reporter Liane Morejon early Saturday morning explaining why the agency could not comment on the matter.
“Visa records are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we cannot comment on individual cases,” the spokesperson wrote.
Related story: Local lawmakers upset over high-ranking ‘Cuban communist party operative’ allowed to enter US
The group of lawmakers who signed the letter included U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, born in Havana. Three others who signed are of Cuban descent: Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, and Rep. María Elvira Salazar. Sen. Rick Scott also signed the letter.
The lawmakers wrote, “INA 212(a)(3)(D)(i) provides that, “Any immigrant who is or has been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party (or subdivision or affiliate thereof), domestic or foreign, is inadmissible.”
The lawmakers requested that Blinken and Mayorkas assess whether the law was followed in this case and if not, what actions will be taken to ensure that high-level Cuban Communist Party operatives are found to be inadmissible according to law.
Marti Noticias, state-run media, reported Menendez Castellanos benefitted from a family reunification process. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, a federal agency, owns Marti Noticias. To avoid recognition, at the airport, the agency’s video shows the Cuban Communist Party leader wearing a pink T-shirt, a face mask, and a baseball cap.
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