‘Totally inexcusable’: GOP electeds weigh in on MIA Cuban delegation flap

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The controversy over a group of Cuban officials given a tour of Transportation Security Administration facilities at Miami International Airport continues to resonate, with three elected Republicans adding to the uproar.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez all spoke out against the tour, which was conducted by the federal government without local or state officials’ knowledge.

All three men are running for re-election.

“We were all shocked,” Diaz-Balart said.

Gimenez, who chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, called it “totally inexcusable.”

TSA officials tell Local 10 News they have agreements with all countries with direct flights into the U.S.

The purpose of the tour was to exchange “technical information on aviation security.”

The visit was cleared by the U.S. State Department’s Cuban Affairs Desk.

The last such visit, in 2018, was to Atlantic City and Philadelphia International Airport during the Trump administration.

“In 2018 Cuba was not on the list of state sponsored terrorism,” Gimenez said.

Cuban officials made similar visits to MIA in 2011 and 2015, during the Obama administration — when Gimenez was county mayor.

“Apparently, it happened during my time,” Gimenez said. “I didn’t know about it until a couple of days ago.”

Looking forward, he now plans to author a bill to prevent tours to countries on America’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

“It would seem like common sense that maybe you shouldn’t be giving tours to agents of a nations that are state-sponsored terrorism on our anti-terrorism efforts,” Gimenez said.

Scott tells Local 10 News he’s requesting a briefing on the matter to hear from federal officials “exactly what happened.”

“I don’t think you feel safe when a state-sponsored terrorism knows our security protocols right here at the Miami airport, one of the busiest airports in the country,” Scott said. “We are going to find out, is it China? Is it Russia? Who else are we doing this with? I mean, this is incompetence.”

A spokesperson for MIA said there are no direct passenger flights from China, just cargo-only flights.

TSA officials say that in 2013 and 2015, the Cuban delegation also toured the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

A spokesperson said, in part, “U.S. and Cuban authorities jointly manage the airspace between Cuba and the United States and ensure the safety and security of travelers using our airports. The Republic of Cuba has six last point of departure airports with direct flights to the United States, and accordingly TSA continually works to strengthen the security framework with Cuba and other Caribbean nations.”