Havana/In addition to the company Xael Charters, which has filed a lawsuit against the revocation of its local license in Miami-Dade, the company Yumury Envios & Travel has assured that its commercial operations with Cuba were permitted by the US federal authorities.
These two businesses appear on the list of 20 establishments sanctioned, on December 22, by the county tax collector, Dariel Fernandez, for allegedly benefiting – directly or indirectly – the Cuban dictatorship.
In an interview for Telemundo 51 this Sunday, the owner of Yumury, Jorge Félix Velázquez, assured that he did not receive the letter – the mail arrived at the company’s old address – in which the collector requested the documentation that authorizes him to do business with the Island. However, he promised to send it to the collector’s office.
The businessman also defended his work and pointed out that his firm “simply” sends “packages”
The businessman also defended his work and pointed out that his firm “simply” sends “packages and helps the relatives in Cuba of the people who live here and who want to send their family a pair of shoes or a package of food.”
In the same Telemundo note, tax collector Dariel Fernandez indicated that, if the companies “have the documents, and prove that they have the license from the Ofac (Office of Foreign Assets Control, which depends on the Department of the Treasury) to operate and enter into some type of trade with the dictatorship, we do not have any type of problem.”
However, the official did not move an inch from the line he has marked since he began this process and closed his message categorically: “Let’s speak clearly: the Cuban communist dictatorship is and will be a danger to the national security of the United States.”
As for the demand which Fernandez made public this Sunday, Cuban Newspaper revealed that the company that initiated the legal process was Xael Charters. According to the media, the complaint was filed on December 24 and is in the Southern District Court of Florida.
The complaint was filed on December 24 and is in the Southern District Court of Florida
The charter company alleges that the revocation of its operating license based on Florida Statutes is unconstitutional. Likewise, he accuses that the damages caused by the measure are “serious” and that they represent “an existential threat” for the company “which has operated legally in Miami for approximately 30 years.”
This Sunday, the tax collector reported that “a private company – without mentioning which one – has now decided to initiate legal proceedings.” Emphatically, he maintained that while the case is resolved, the revocation will remain in effect, “until the company demonstrates compliance and satisfies all the legal and administrative requirements necessary to operate legally in Miami-Dade County.”
In a document published on his social networks, he said that “the lawsuits do not deter us from fulfilling our duty. On the contrary, they reinforce the importance of applying the law correctly and without concessions. The Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Office will continue to put the people of Miami-Dade first, acting when necessary and protecting the safety and integrity of our community at all times.”
“Lawsuits do not deter us from fulfilling our duty. On the contrary, they reinforce the importance of applying the law”
Fernandez insisted that his decision is based on “the duty to safeguard the national security of the United States and to ensure that our county is not used, directly or indirectly, to benefit or support the Cuban dictatorship, which is an enemy of the United States of America.”
The measure applied by the collector, with which he canceled business licenses for alleged links to Castroism, is protected by Section 205.0532 of the Florida Statutes and Section A-175.1 of the Miami-Dade County Code, which authorize the revocation or denial of the renewal of the Local Business Tax to companies that carry out operations with Cuba in violation of US federal legislation. In addition to the federal penalties these companies face, the revocation of the Local Business Tax amounts to the suspension of their business license and prevents them from legally operating within the county.
Those affected include travel agencies, shipping companies and logistics firms, several of them with multiple locations in South Florida:
Havana Sky Travel Inc.
AMZ Immigration and Multi-Services Corp.
Global Cargo Corp.
Globi Multiservices Inc., operating as Globi Envios.
Managua Travel Agency Inc., operating as Cuba Travel & Services.
BM Envios Cargo Corp.
R & R Logistics Customer Freight Solutions LLC.
Leafy Holidays Inc.
JM Services LLC.
Yumury Envios & Travel LLC (2 locations).
Lucero Services Corp.
OMD Multiservices LLC, doing business as Martinair Travel.
JC Montoya Services Inc.
Latin Logistics LLC, operating as Avianca Express.
Capote Express Inc.
Pocho Express LLC.
Xcellence Travel Inc.
Via Blanca Multiservice Inc.
Your Cuba Multiservices Corp.
Xael Charters Inc.
