Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., asked the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday to investigate dozens of people he says are tied to the Cuban government and currently living in the United States, escalating pressure on Washington as the Trump administration adopts a more forceful posture toward threats in Latin America.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Gimenez said his office and human rights organizations had identified individuals linked to the regime of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and the late Castro brothers. The congressman, who represents Miami-Dade and Monroe counties and fled Cuba’s 1959-60 revolution as a child, asked DHS to report by Sept. 26 on whether the department has investigated the named people, pursued deportation or removal proceedings, and, if not, why no action was taken. A DHS spokesperson said Tuesday the department was looking into the matter.
Gimenez’s letter said some of the individuals are in the United States under humanitarian programs and that pro-democracy groups link them to Díaz-Canel’s government. Several named in the correspondence were described as associated with the Brigadas de Acción Rápida, a group that human rights advocates and dissidents say has patrolled to suppress anti-government activity on the island. Gimenez wrote that the presence of such people in the United States poses a national security concern and urged DHS to enforce existing immigration laws to identify, deport and repatriate those who present threats.
The request comes as the Trump administration has taken a series of aggressive actions in the region, including a U.S. airstrike in the Caribbean against a skiff the government said was carrying suspected gang members involved in drug trafficking, and the public placement of a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Administration officials also have designated groups such as Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, deployed three warships to the Caribbean near Venezuela, and sent senior military leaders to Puerto Rico to bolster regional operations.
Those measures drew praise from some lawmakers and activists who have urged broader action against Havana, and criticism from others in Congress who questioned whether military operations in the Caribbean align with the War Powers Act. Gimenez, a Cuban-born Republican who has publicly urged tighter pressure on the island, told media earlier this year that the U.S. should "freeze the regime’s economic oxygen" and said he believed the Cuban government was near collapse.
Gimenez’s latest letter follows a similar communication in March that first raised concerns about potential Cuban agents living in the U.S. He wrote in the new letter that some of the individuals he identified had allegedly "gamed" the immigration system and that their presence was an "insult" to legitimate Cuban exiles who fled for freedom.
Human rights organizations that contributed to Gimenez’s list have accused the Cuban government of widespread abuses; the congressman’s letter did not specify criminal charges against the named individuals but asked DHS to determine whether they should be subject to removal proceedings. A DHS spokesperson confirmed the department was reviewing the correspondence but provided no details on any ongoing investigations.
The stepped-up enforcement and military actions are part of a broader shift in U.S. policy toward Latin America after years of greater emphasis on other regions, administration officials say. Supporters argue the measures are necessary to disrupt criminal networks trafficking drugs and people and to deter authoritarian regimes from using the hemisphere as a sanctuary. Opponents caution that unilateral military actions and sanctions carry legal and diplomatic risks and could complicate relations with regional partners.
Gimenez’s request for a formal DHS report sets a firm timeline for the agency’s response and raises questions about how immigration and national-security authorities will address allegations of foreign government operatives residing in the United States. DHS has historically coordinated with the State Department and other agencies on matters that intersect immigration policy and national security; how it acts on Gimenez’s list could shape congressional and public debate over the administration’s broader Latin America strategy in the coming months.