South Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez urges halt to flights, remittances and foreign oil shipments to Cuba
South Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez on Thursday called for a sweeping escalation of U.S. pressure on Cuba, urging an end to flights, remittances and foreign oil shipments he said are propping up the island's communist government and enriching regime officials.
Speaking alongside fellow South Florida Republicans and Cuban exile leaders, Gimenez said he is pressing both the Trump administration and Mexico's government to cut off economic lifelines he argues are sustaining the Cuban regime at a time of deep hardship for the Cuban people.
Gimenez said Mexico continues to ship oil to Cuba, providing the government with "assets" and "cash in the pockets" of regime leaders. He said he has sent a letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, asking her to halt the shipments and questioning why Mexico would send "billions of dollars to Cuba when your own people need that money."
"She's ideologically aligned with the regime," Gimenez said.
The congressman also said he is urging the Trump administration to stop all flights to and from Cuba, arguing that air travel generates revenue that ultimately benefits the government. He called for an end to remittances as well, saying financial flows from the U.S. help sustain what he described as a repressive system.
"That regime is a cancer, and the way that you cure cancer, sometimes the cure is painful, but it works," Gimenez said.
While acknowledging that a political transition on the island would be difficult, Gimenez said sustained pressure remains necessary.
"The transition to democracy in Cuba won't be easy. There's no clear-cut plan for that, but it's a journey we must take," he said.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who joined Gimenez at the event, framed the push against Cuba as part of a broader effort to confront authoritarian governments across the region.
"Today we're closer than ever to see a free, democratic Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and the entire hemisphere," Diaz-Balart said. He added that "the threat to the national security that is the Castro regime is no longer acceptable and will no longer be tolerated."
The remarks came during a press conference in Miami organized with The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and attended by Cuban exile organizations, local elected officials and community activists. The group said the event marked a coordinated effort by South Florida Republican leaders to push for tougher U.S. and international action against Cuba's government.
The press conference was held Thursday morning at the Directorio Democrático Cubano offices in Miami-Dade, where organizers described the announcement as a major step in escalating political and economic pressure on Havana.