Five Republican members of Florida's congressional delegation are demanding the Biden administration investigate how a former Cuban Communist Party leader was allowed to migrate to the United States.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the GOP lawmakers said they are "profoundly" disgusted and "outraged" by the entry of "operative" Manuel Menendez Castellanos into the country last week.
Menendez, they wrote, was a member of Fidel Castro's "notorious 'coordination and support team.' " The Republicans, led by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, demand answers as to how "an individual with a role in oppressing the Cuban people" was given the "extraordinary privilege of U.S. entry."
"We write to express our profound disgust regarding reports that a high-level, longtime Cuban Communist Party operative managed to gain the special privilege of U.S. entry. Further, and within all applicable rules and regulations, we request that you assess whether the law was followed in this case and if not, what specific processes are in place to ensure that a similar mistake does not recur," the letter said.
Cuban media outlet Marti Noticias first reported that Menendez arrived in Miami on Aug. 15 through the Cuban Reunification Parole Program, resumed by the Biden administration in June 2022 after a six-year hiatus.
The lawmakers wrote that the humanitarian program should not be extended to communists, citing federal law.
"Any immigrant who is or has been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party ... domestic or foreign, is inadmissible."
"Given this prohibition in U.S. law, it would seem likely to us that a high-level, longtime Cuban Communist Party member and agent of that brutal dictatorship would be inadmissible for U.S. entry," they added.
Menendez began working for the Cuban regime in 1972 and was later promoted to first secretary of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos from 1993 to 2003. Further, the Miami Herald reported that Menendez represented Cuba in international forums and was the recipient of several awards by the government.
"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," wrote the Republicans.
The letter was co-signed by GOP Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez as well as both Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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