Former Sen. Mel Martinez backs Trump pressure campaign on Cuba as activists face scrutiny

The nation's first Cuban-American senator is weighing in on the Trump administration's pressure campaign on the Cuban regime.

"I think today we are living in a different day because you see an administration determined to make a change," said retired Senator Mel Martinez, from the steps of Miami's Freedom Tower.

Martinez was among thousands of children secretly taken out of Cuba during the 1960's during an operation called Peter Pan or "Pedro Pan."

"As a Pedro Pan, this building means a great deal to me, " he said. "My parents ended up here [at the Freedom Tower] when they finally were able to reunite with me."

The building took on added significance last week, as the place with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a criminal indictment of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, over his alleged role in the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown of civilian planes from Florida in which four volunteers were killed.

"President Trump seems very determined to bring an end to the Cuban system," Maritnez said. "So whether Castro comes here to face justice as he rightly should or whether there's some other way change is brought about, I'm not gonna be picky about it, I just want Cuba to change."

Now, some activist groups who protest the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba say they are feeling pressure from the administration, too.

"I don't doubt that they are investigating us because I've heard about this for several weeks now," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the group Code Pink.

She was reacting to a report by Fox News Digital that the U.S. Treasury Department had issued administrative subpoenas to members who participated in a trip to Cuba in March. The request was reported to be an effort to determine whether U.S. sanctions were violated by members. 

Benjamin says the trip was a humanitarian mission, and the group brought donations of medicines and medical supplies.

"They're barking up the wrong tree," Benjamin said. "We don't like the U.S. regulations, but we abided by them," she added.