Federal authorities brought Cuban aviation officials to Miami International Airport in 2011 and 2015, the Transportation Security Administration confirmed Wednesday, two days after the revelation of a similar visit set off a political firestorm in Miami.
“In August 2011, Cuba inspectors made a reciprocal visit to observe security measures at the Last Point of Departure airports at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York and Miami International Airport in Miami,” said TSA spokesman Mark Howell in an email. . “During this visit, the Cuban delegation presented TSA with a copy of its Civil Aviation Security Program, which was a breakthrough in information sharing.”
Cuban aviation officials have been touring U.S. airports for years, including before direct flights between the two countries resumed in 2016, Howell said.
He said a Cuban aviation delegation also visited Miami-Dade airport in 2015, the second tour under President Barack Obama’s administration.
The visit of a Cuban government delegation to Miami International Airport this week set off a political firestorm among local officials and members of Congress, who questioned why the Biden administration had allowed access to what they claim are “sensitive” TSA facilities.
Howell said none of the visits, including this week’s, would include sensitive areas at airports.
“It’s very similar to a media tour,” he said. “It’s not classified information. It is fundamental operational information to improve the overall baseline of global aviation security.”
Cuban groups also visited security operations at other US airports under President Donald Trump’s administration. In 2018, three Cuban officials visited airports in Philadelphia; Arlington, VA; and Atlantic City, New Jersey, Howell said.
Monday’s visit to MIA took Cuban officials to a baggage screening area that is not open to the public but has been frequented by media and other visitors, said Ralph Cutié, aviation director for Miami-Dade County, which owns the airport. He said no county officials had been informed by his TSA colleagues about the visit, which the Cuban-American said left him “shocked.”
His boss, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat and ally of President Joe Biden, said she was shocked by the visit.
Levine Cava took office in 2020. Her predecessor, Republican Carlos Gimenez, is now a member of Congress. He said in social media posts that he is demanding an investigation into why the Biden administration allowed the visit to MIA. Gimenez, who was mayor in 2015 and took office in the first half of 2011, had no immediate comment on news of the Cuban visits in those years, which did not appear to be publicly known at the time.
“TSA has been working with Cuba on civil aviation security for many years and has facilitated several such visits with the Department of State over the years,” a State Department spokesperson said. “Without this long-standing cooperation in civil aviation security, the direct flights between the United States and Cuba that so many Cuban-Americans and others use to visit and support their relatives may not be possible.”
On Tuesday, Florida Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and Miami Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar and Giménez sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing their “deep concern and outrage” over the last visit of a Cuban delegation. to MIA.
“As you know, the Cuban regime has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism and has absolutely no reason to be invited to tour sensitive areas or review the security protocols of a U.S. airport for the sole purpose of protecting the millions of travelers who cross the border. U.S. commercial airline system every year,” they wrote on the letter.
They said Congress was not informed of the visit.
