DORAL, Fla. – A major move was made by the Trump administration, now ordering the shutdown of the parent agency of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which operates Radio and Television Marti.
The stations, which are based in Doral, were originally formed during the Reagan administration to promote democracy overseas.
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The organization beams these Spanish-language newscasts directly into Cuba to counter disinformation and provide a direct source of objective journalism to those living on the island.
The move was made official in an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, aimed at what he says is “continuing the reduction of federal bureaucracy.”
The order requires the office that oversees Marti to be dismantled, along with six other agencies overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which includes Voice of America.
Both VOA and Marti are now placing all employees on paid administrative leave.
The shakeup drew criticism from many, including South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, who called it a “gift to the Cuban communist regime” and that “kneecapping democracy in an information war against autocrats is what useful idiots do.”
Wasserman Schultz said she thinks the move will make it harder to combat disinformation.
“All that to me says that he’s caving to fighting communism and autocracy,” she said. “Closing all that down means that we are willfully further isolating Cubans on the island and that’s on top of the fact that we have the regime in Cuba cracking down on freedom fighters, on people who have protested in the streets.”
The American Foreign Service Association also blasted the move and the removal of all workers, adding that unilaterally stripping a congressionally established agency of its core functions is an affront to the constitutional balance of powers.
South Florida’s Republican delegation calls it more of a cooling off and evaluation period.
In fact, appearing on Local 10′s “This Week in South Florida” on Sunday, Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez noted that Radio and TV Marti are both baked into a law passed by Congress years ago.
“We’re not entirely sure what that means to Radio Marti or TV Marti,” said Gimenez. “I think it has to be evaluated with the head of the agency that may do that and come back with a recommendation. I think the people have been placed on administrative leave for a while, but you can be certain that the three Republican members of South Florida will be fighting to maintain effective broadcasting to Cuba.”