As the presidential election approaches, 90 miles away from the U.S. mainland, the communist Cuban government is reportedly trying to influence congressional elections again, as it did two years ago.
One such hotspot is reportedly South Florida, which is now home to a large population of Cuban immigrants and Cuban-Americans who fled the regime long ruled by the Castro brothers.
At a press conference on Monday, ODNI officials reportedly confirmed that the Cuban government is seeking to counter American candidates who oppose the communist regime. Miami Herald.
During the 2022 election, intelligence agencies discovered that Cuba was trying to “smear” him.[e]”There were certain candidates there,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Cuban-born Florida Republican who represents the Florida Keys and parts of Miami-Dade County. “He said at the time he considered himself one of those targets.”
Lawmakers denounce federal Cuba restrictions as “a lifeline to our greatest enemy in the Western Hemisphere”
The late Fidel Castro meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose countries are accused of meddling in US elections. (AP Photo/Alex Castro)
Other lawmakers suspected of being targets of Cuban interference at the time included Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Maria Elvira Salazar, both Republicans from Miami.
A source told Fox News Digital that one of the tools Cuban is using to target such lawmakers is through so-called “bots” on social media that attack Republicans from the political right, making them more offensive to a wider range of voters.
Salazar said Tuesday that he is Havana’s Miguel Díaz-Canel government’s “biggest opponent in Congress.”
“[I]”It doesn’t surprise me that they’re trying to overturn our election,” said Salazar, who best represents “Little Havana,” just west of downtown Miami.
“Our American democracy is stronger than these feeble attempts to silence critics. We will be watching in 2024.”
70-year-old Republican official calls Cheatle’s pitched roof defense “the final straw.”
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (R) and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador raise their hands before signing a bilateral agreement. (Yamir Raj/AFP via Getty Images)
Jimenez added Tuesday that he wears the target Cuba has allegedly imposed on him “like a badge of honor.”
The former Miami-Dade County mayor joked that his goal is to stay in Congress longer than El Capitolio Nacional’s government will last. Diaz-Canel is the first person not from the Castro family to govern the island since Fulgencio Batista was overthrown in 1959.
“I expect that myself, Maria, Mario and Sen. Rick Scott will again be their primary targets,” Gimenez said in an interview.
“The fact that the Cuban regime sees us as the enemy, I think that’s what’s happening in our lives here in South Florida.”
“We are their enemies. We want freedom for the Cuban people. And we won’t stop until we get freedom for the Cuban people. So, give it your all. What can I say?”
Asked whether Congress could or should counter Cuba’s efforts, Jimenez hesitated.
“I don’t know what Congress can do about this,” he said, adding that if Congress were to take any action, it would likely fall into the realm of censorship or “fact-checking.”
He is opposed to censorship and worries that fact-checkers will essentially “fact-check” based on their own ideological bias, suggesting that such practices will do more harm than good.
“The public has the responsibility to determine whether what they’re reading is true or false,” he said. “So I’m not that concerned.”
On the other side of the Tamiami Trail, Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.) also condemned Cuba’s actions.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel is the first person other than Castro to take power since the 1959 revolution. (AP Photo/Peter DeJong, File)
“Cuba’s communist regime is an oppressive dictatorship that has inflicted unimaginable horrors on the Cuban people,” the Naples lawmaker said.
“In South Florida, we stand for freedom. In South Florida, we stand for human rights. And in South Florida, we will never succumb to the evil of Communism,” he said.
Donald said this type of election interference from across the Straits of Florida should never be tolerated.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the ODNI for comment. A copy was provided The bureau’s report on foreign election “threats” during the 2022 election cycle lists Cuba alongside Iran, China and Russia.
Large portions of the report are redacted, but in the unredacted section on Cuba, the FTA assessed that Havana sought to damage “the electoral prospects of certain U.S. congressional and gubernatorial politicians it deemed hostile.”
The report noted that all political parties, including Republicans and Democrats, are in the spotlight, and also highlighted the increased attention on the island state of South Florida, making it a particularly vulnerable hotspot.
Another way the Cuban government has tried to influence American voters is through the media. According to the report, the government has sought to build relationships with journalists who share opposing views to Cuba’s critics in Congress.
Jimenez said that sounded like a good strategy for a malicious regime, adding: “The fact that there are useful idiots in the American media is a problem for useful idiots.”
