Miami/Hialeah, the city with the highest proportion of Cubans in the United States, announced this Thursday an emergency plan for citizen celebrations that could occur after the eventual “fall of the regime” in Cuba, given the growing pressure from the United States on the Island.
The mayor of this city in the metropolitan area of Miami-Dade County, Bryan Calvo, revealed in a conference that the police and fire departments already have a security plan, as they expect at least 10,000 people in spontaneous massive celebrations in the city, where three quarters of the 300,000 inhabitants are of Cuban origin.
“Hialeah is the city in the United States where there are the most Cubans living at the moment and it is also the city in the entire world where the most free Cubans live, so it is very important for us and we are closely monitoring the situation that is escalating on the Island of Cuba,” declared Calvo.
The 28-year-old mayor stated that “the days of that regime, of that dictatorship, are coming to an end”
The 28-year-old mayor affirmed that “the days of that regime, of that dictatorship, are coming to an end” after the United States intervention in Venezuela that led on January 3 to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and the end of the supply of Venezuelan oil to Cuba.
Although he clarified that there is “no event planned” by the City Council, he anticipated that “if something happens in the coming days, weeks or months there will be large demonstrations in this community,” as happened with Venezuelans in the neighboring city of Doral after Maduro’s arrest.
“We do not know exactly what is going to happen, when or how something is going to happen on the Island of Cuba, but we know that there is not much time left and we are monitoring the health conditions and the things that are happening on the Island,” said Calvo.
The Hialeah plan reflects the growing expectation of a possible fall of the Cuban Government in Florida, where more than 1.5 million people of Cuban origin live, almost two-thirds of the national total in the United States.
Moments before the conference, the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, assured in a television message that the Island “is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States” on “any topic,” to build “a civilized relationship between neighbors” and “mutual benefit.”
Trump warned on Wednesday that “Cuba is in big trouble” in an interview with NBC, in which he also stated that his Administration “is talking to Cuba.”
The mayor of Hialeah clarified that his security plan seeks for “this to be a peaceful celebration
The mayor of Hialeah clarified that his security plan seeks that “this is a peaceful celebration, a celebration of pride of the Cuban people and that there are no bad actors who intercede or try to cause disruption or any damage to property or person.”
Calvo cited the “national emergency” that Trump declared last week due to “the threat” posed by Cuba, to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to the Island.
In this context, he recalled that in January the City Council identified some 280 businesses with possible links to Cuba, so they are analyzing whether they are violating the law, and some will have their licenses taken away.
“We are focused on the civil part, but if we are talking about money laundering, obviously, that is a crime,” he told EFE in previous statements.
