Miami-Dade Tax Collector Seeks Dismissal of Xael Charters, Inc.’s Lawsuit, Says Company Advertised Prohibited Cuban Hotel
Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit by Xael Charters, Inc., rejecting the company's claims, defending the office's lawful enforcement actions, and protecting our community from businesses profiting off the Cuban dictatorship.
The motion asserts that Fernandez acted squarely within his legal authority when he temporarily revoked the company’s business tax receipt (BTR) after it advertised travel services tied to the Hotel Grand Aston La Habana: a property on the U.S. Department of State’s Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List. Fernandez reinstated the BTR days later, once the company demonstrated compliance and removed references to the prohibited accommodation from its website.
“I will never apologize for protecting the people of Miami-Dade County. Federal law prohibits booking rooms at the Cuban dictatorship’s military-owned hotels because those transactions directly benefit the regime,” Fernandez said. “When my office became aware of advertising tied to one of those properties, we took immediate action to protect our community and enforce the law.”
The motion to dismiss arises from a sweeping county-wide compliance initiative led by the independent, constitutional Office of the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector to review all entities doing business with the Cuban communist and socialist dictatorship. The program, which directs Cuba-related businesses within the county to identify their exemptions from the federal embargo, aims to support restrictions on travel and commerce that benefit the Cuban regime. Fernandez made the Cuba-related businesses’ responses to the initiative available to the public on the Office’s Transparency Page https://mdctaxcollector.gov/transparency, and he invites county residents to view the documents for themselves.
In the motion to dismiss, the Tax Collector describes Xael Charters, Inc. as engaging in business conduct that "enriched itself and Cuba’s communist regime by facilitating travel between the U.S. and Cuba, all while the dictatorship denied millions of Cubans basic human rights." The filing also mentions that Cuban state media praised the company and its founder for their "unwavering support" of the Castro regime, and Cuba’s foreign minister lauded the founder’s global defense of the dictatorship.
Critically, the Office coordinated directly with federal authorities overseeing Cuba sanctions, export controls, and aviation security, ensuring local actions complement and reinforce the federal framework. The motion argues that the Office of the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s steps align with federal policy targeting the Cuban regime while honoring licensing exceptions, protecting our community, and fulfilling the Office’s duty "to enforce the laws of the United States of America, the State of Florida, and Miami-Dade County." The motion to dismiss highlights broad support for the Office’s initiative, including a letter urgently requesting a prompt federal review of Cuba-related businesses’ licenses from U.S. Representatives Carlos Gimenez, Mario Díaz-Balart, and Maria Elvira Salazar; a Miami-Dade County Commission resolution; and statements from the Cities of Miami, Miami Beach, Homestead, Miami Lakes, and Hialeah.
