DORAL, Fla. – A major move 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.
The organization beaming 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 made official in an executive order signed by President Trump on Friday, aimed at what he says, is “continuing the reduction of federal bureaucracy.”
The order requiring 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 drawing 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.”
The American Foreign Service Association also blasting 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.