Following a request from the Cubamax company to expand its offices, Hialeah unanimously approved a resolution that will prevent businesses linked to the Cuban regime from obtaining profits in that city.
On Tuesday, Hialeah Councilman Bryan Calvo expressed that “these businesses will not be given the opportunity to grow and receive concessions from the city of Hialeah,” he reported. Telemundo 51.
Mayor Esteban Bovo, for his part, said that “as a city and as a government, we are not going to conduct any type of business with entities that are profiting from the suffering of the Cuban people.”
“I am clear that the people have their family in Cuba and want to help their families. I would never raise my voice against that, but feeding the government to continue the repression seems like a useless proposal to me,” he added.
The controversy began with a request for CUBAMAX –a travel and money transfer agency to Cuba– to expand its operations, after which the local government passed a resolution to prevent any business with connections to the Cuban government from receiving concessions from the city.
Calvo stated that he was concerned about the Cuban intervention in South Florida: “For me it is more than evidence that this company CUBAMAX, which has strong ties to the Cuban government, want to grow here in the city of Hialeah. You have to be very firm,” she argued.
Although the city does not have a specific list of people or businesses linked to the Cuban regime, officials claim to have the necessary resources to detect them.
“Obviously there is a history, this is another step that must be improved,” Bovo commented.
Calvo added the importance of having a stricter program to review and regulate these businesses, and stressed that it is a function of the government.
