Gimenez Criticizes Senate Candidate Nixon's Remarks on Cuba

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., a Cuban-American congressman whose family escaped Fidel Castro's communist regime, has criticized Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon for her remarks regarding Cuba. Gimenez stated that Nixon did not go far enough in condemning the island nation's government.

Nixon, a state representative challenging Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., faced scrutiny after an interview where her comments about Cuba were initially characterized by CBS News as a refusal to label it a dictatorship. When asked if she considered Cuba a dictatorship, Nixon responded, "That is what people have told me. I have never been to Cuba, and so I will have to take their word for it." Nixon is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

CBS News later apologized for the misleading framing of Nixon's response, re-uploading the footage and acknowledging the mischaracterization. Nixon had called the initial report a "serious failure of editorial reporting" and stated, "To claim I declined to answer the question is categorically false. That is not journalism. It is misinformation."

Despite the apology, Gimenez maintained that Nixon failed to unequivocally condemn Cuba's regime. "There is no ambiguity: Cuba is a communist dictatorship that has imprisoned, tortured, and murdered innocent people for decades," Gimenez told Fox News Digital. "Floridians deserve leaders who stand unequivocally for freedom, not politicians who whitewash the horrors of communism."

Cuba has been under communist rule since 1959.

During her interview, Nixon also voiced criticism of the long-standing U.S. embargo on Cuba. She expressed support for reinstating policies similar to those under former President Barack Obama, suggesting such an approach could help alleviate shortages of medical care and frequent blackouts on the island.

Obama initiated a diplomatic thaw with Cuba in 2014, restoring relations and easing some economic and travel restrictions. In 2015, his administration removed Cuba from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Nixon and other DSA members have argued that the U.S. embargo exacerbates the difficult living conditions faced by the Cuban population.

The administration of former President Donald Trump maintained sanctions, targeting businesses linked to Cuba's military, such as GAESA, a conglomerate reportedly worth over $14.5 billion and controlling 37% of the country's GDP. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated these sanctions do not impact the Cuban people directly, but rather businesses associated with the regime.