Statement From Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez Supporting President Trump And Secretary Rubio’s Actions Against Gaesa, Mnsa (Moa Nickel S.A.), Cuba’s Communist Dictatorship

Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez issued the following statement today after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new federal sanctions targeting Cuba’s military controlled economic network, including GAESA, MNSA (Moa Nickel S.A.), and senior regime leadership.

“President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are sending a clear and powerful message: the United States will not allow the Cuban communist and socialist dictatorship to continue using its military controlled economic empire to enrich itself, finance repression, threaten freedom, and undermine the national security interests of the United States of America.

As I have always said, the issue of Cuba is not simply about immigration or foreign policy. It is a matter of national security for the United States. We cannot continue allowing a murderous communist and socialist regime that has destroyed the Cuban people, violated human rights, aligned itself with hostile foreign powers, and supported anti-American interests to remain only 90 miles from our shores.

Let me be absolutely clear. GAESA and MNSA, Moa Nickel S.A., are not normal businesses. They are part of the financial machinery of a brutal communist dictatorship that has oppressed the Cuban people for more than six decades. These entities help sustain a regime responsible for political persecution, censorship, stolen property, forced poverty, suppression of dissent, and the destruction of basic freedoms.

For years, the dictatorship has used military controlled companies to move money, evade accountability, and strengthen its grip on power while the Cuban people continue suffering hunger, blackouts, repression, and fear. These sanctions strike directly at the regime’s economic structure, its sources of revenue, and the individuals and entities helping finance tyranny.

This is not only a Cuba issue. This is a direct national security issue for the United States of America. The Cuban regime has openly aligned itself with hostile governments and anti-American actors. It has welcomed Russian military assets only 90 miles from our shores, including a Russian nuclear powered submarine in Havana Bay. According to the White House, Cuba hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility. The dictatorship has also harbored fugitives from American justice and continues serving as a platform for anti-democratic influence throughout the Western Hemisphere.

That is not the behavior of a peaceful neighbor. That is the behavior of a hostile communist regime aligned with America’s adversaries and those who hate freedom and western democratic values.

A dictatorship that supports America’s enemies, represses its own people, and destabilizes the region should never be allowed to profit from access to American institutions, American systems, American markets, or American communities without consequences.

Here in Miami-Dade County, we understand this reality better than anyone. Our community is home to generations of Cuban Americans and families who escaped communism in search of freedom and opportunity. Their stories are proof that socialism and communism destroy nations, separate families, silence voices, and rob entire generations of their future.

As Miami-Dade County Tax Collector, I remain fully committed to protecting the integrity of our local processes and ensuring that our office continues cooperating with the appropriate federal authorities whenever necessary. Any company operating in Miami-Dade County that violates the laws of the United States of America, engages in prohibited business connected to the murderous Cuban communist dictatorship, or supports entities tied to the regime should understand clearly that there will be consequences. Local Business Tax Receipts connected to unlawful activity or violations of applicable federal and state laws can and will be subject to revocation under the authority granted by law.

Our office will continue standing firmly against any effort that allows the dictatorship or its military controlled entities to benefit through financial networks, commercial structures, or business activity connected to our community. We will continue putting the residents of Miami-Dade County first, protecting the integrity of our system, and defending the values of freedom, democracy, and national security.

Our office will never look the other way when the interests of our community, our residents, and our country are at stake.

I applaud President Trump and Secretary Rubio for their decisive leadership and for continuing to confront the Cuban dictatorship with strength, moral clarity, and courage. The United States must continue exposing the regime’s financial networks, increasing pressure on those who support it, and standing with the Cuban people in their fight for freedom, democracy, and human dignity.

The time has come for the Cuban people to finally live in freedom. Freedom for Cuba is not negotiable.