MADRID, Spain.- Five Republican congressmen asked the government of President Joe Biden to explain how Manuel Menéndez Castellanos, former first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in the province of Cienfuegos, obtained a visa and entered the United States. Legislators Maria Elvira Salazar, Mario Diaz-Balart, Jim Jordan, Tom McClintock and Carlos Gimenez sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee, where they denounced flaws in the visa verification process.
Menéndez Castellanos entered the United States through the family reunification program, despite having been part of the high leadership of the island’s regime. Congressmen question how it was possible for him to obtain an immigrant visa, pointing out that this case reflects serious failures in the State Department’s security procedures. According to the legislators, Menéndez Castellanos denied his affiliation with the PCC in his visa application, but later admitted to having been a member of this organization, which should have been an impediment to his entry into the country.
“Menendez Castellanos’ admission raises serious questions about the Biden-Harris Administration’s enforcement of federal immigration law and the verification procedures used during the immigrant visa application process,” the letter states. The congressmen also demanded that they be provided with the full case file by September 23, 2024.
The State Department has not yet issued any comment on the matter. However, lawmakers say immigration authorities ignored warnings about Menendez’s ties to the Cuban Communist Party, leading them to suspect possible systemic failures in the evaluation of immigration applications.
In a video posted on X, Mario Díaz-Balart criticized the Biden administration for “allowing the entry of thugs and executioners of the Castro regime.” “They cannot be so naive as not to know who these people are who are entering the United States,” He stated the legislator.
Arrival of Menéndez Castellanos to the United States
Manuel Menéndez Castellanos, former leader of the Cuban Communist Party, arrived in Miami on Thursday, August 15, camouflaged under a sanitary mask, cap and pink T-shirt. Menéndez, who held key positions in the Central Committee of the Communist Party and was head of the party in Cienfuegos, was surprised by the media Marti News upon landing at Miami International Airport.
Menendez’s entry into the United States occurred through a family reunification process. After waiting several hours at the airport, he was admitted into the country, where a group of people, presumably family members, were waiting for him.
In the presence of journalist Mario J. Pentón, Menéndez avoided making statements and tried to snatch the camera that was filming him. “I’m going home,” was his only response.
This case adds to other similar ones of former officials of the Cuban regime who have managed to establish themselves in the United States. In May 2024, the former president of the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power of the Isle of Youth, Arelys Casañola Quintanaalso settled in the United States, after requesting political asylum.
