Republican leaders speak about the current situation in Cuba during a press conference at the Museum in Honor of the Assault Brigade in Hialeah Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, August 5, 2021.
The Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, will meet with Cubans and Haitians in Miami next week, amid the crises facing both Caribbean countries, according to a White House official.
The visit is part of the White House’s efforts to meet with members of the Cuban diaspora in South Florida, more than a month after the July 11 anti-government protests broke out on the island, sparked by food shortages. and medicines and the lack of access to vaccines. Since then there have been dozens of protests in Miami and throughout South Florida to protest against the Cuban regime.
Mayorkas, who came to the United States from Cuba as a child, plans to “reaffirm President Biden’s commitment to holding the Cuban regime accountable, supporting the Cuban people,” and “ensuring that Cuban Americans remain a vital ally in our efforts to provide relief. to those who suffer on the island ”.
The White House did not immediately provide details on exactly when the visit will be and who will attend.
Ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and a group of Cuban-Americans at the White House last month, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new sanctions against senior leaders of Cuba’s National Revolutionary Police for excessive violence. against protesters.
During his stay in Miami, Mayorkas also plans to meet with members of the Haitian community to “discuss the impact of the political crisis in Haiti” and the United States’ efforts in the country following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7.
Mayorkas also plans to meet with the first rescuers from the Surfside building collapse.
On July 13, during a press conference, Mayorkas warned Cubans and Haitians not to try to reach the United States illegally by sea because they will not be allowed to arrive and stay.
“Any immigrant intercepted at sea, regardless of nationality, will not be allowed to enter the United States,” Mayorkas said at the time.