By Mark Vargas
August 15, 2025
On Tuesday, longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone released damning evidence that Florida Congressman Carlos Giménez has been covering up national security threats posed by Crowley Maritime Corporation—a Florida-based Department of Defense contractor operating cargo and freight services in Cuba’s Mariel Port under the direct supervision of the Cuban military.
As expected, these revelations have drawn overwhelming support from figures within the MAGA movement, including General Michael Flynn, Colonel Rob Maness, and former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who have joined Stone in denouncing the severity of Rep. Giménez’s refusal to take action on—or even address—Crowley’s alarming operations with the communist Cuban military.
Crowley Maritime, a DoD contractor holding $2.3 billion in Defense Freight Transportation Services (DFTS) contracts and $343 million in Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) contracts, has operated in Cuba since 2001 under authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Its operations in Cuba, where the Castro regime military collaborates with China, Russia, and Iran, risk espionage, especially given Chinese intelligence facilities near Havana.
As detailed in Stone’s report, “Cuba’s Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) sites— Bejucal, Wajay, Calabazar, and El Salao—have been active since 1992, with major upgrades in 2019 and 2025. These facilities intercept U.S. military communications, track rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, and spy on Guantánamo Bay. Bejucal now hosts a new Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA), while Wajay’s expanded 12-antenna complex greatly enhances Cuba’s surveillance reach.”
Stone also drew attention to a photograph showing Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez participating in a Crowley Maritime Co. event in Havana—an image that starkly underscores the blatant and alarming Cuba–Crowley–DoD nexus.
“It is both disappointing and troubling that Congressman Giménez—co sponsor of the Security Act of 2023—has failed to use his chairmanship of the House Homeland Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security to, at the very least, criticize and expose Crowley’s role in propping up and doing business with the regime. His willful blindness, given his responsibility for maritime security and his personal connection to the Cuban-American community, represents a serious failure to confront both a clear national security threat and a profound moral issue,” said Stone.
“Among certain Cuban-American politicians and ‘influencers,’ it has become a trend to base their entire appeal on ‘opposition’ rhetoric to the regime. This level of inaction leads many to believe that, to them, it’s nothing more than cash register politics,” Stone added.
As is broadly recognized by geopolitical commentators, Cuba’s role as a proxy for U.S. adversaries—hosting Russian naval visits, Iranian diplomatic ties, and Chinese SIGINT sites—makes Crowley’s dealings a geopolitical liability. By operating in Cuba, Crowley risks enabling a regime that supports anti-U.S. regimes like Venezuela’s and facilitates asymmetric warfare, undermining American interests in the Western Hemisphere.
On Wednesday, online host Alex Otaola brought Roger Stone’s revelations to his show — a program centered on showbiz gossip — not to investigate or demand answers, but to defend and shield Rep. Carlos Giménez. In his typically overblown and politically tone-deaf style, Otaola argued that Florida’s exiled Cuban community should rally behind Giménez, claiming that losing him would mean losing Cuban representation in Congress.
But what “representation” is Otaola talking about? Giménez, as Chairman of the House Homeland Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, has turned a blind eye while Crowley Maritime profits from and engages in direct dealings with the communist Cuban regime.
In the midst of Otaola’s frantic bid to shield Giménez — and prop up the tired “anti-Castro” opposition façade within Miami’s Cuban-American political establishment — his own nerves got the best of him. Flustered and fumbling, he accidentally threw on screen a damaging graphic: Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart’s campaign contributions, laying bare Crowley’s generous funding of the career politician’s campaigns. This was as revealing as it was worrisome.
During the April 5, 2024 Joint Field Hearing on Port Safety, Security, and Infrastructure Investment, where James C. Fowler, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crowley Shipping, served as a panelist, Rep Mario Díaz-Balart was present yet failed to question Fowler about Crowley’s Cuban operations or related security risks — including vulnerabilities in its subcontracting for the Department of Defense. Adding insult to injury, Rep. Carlos Giménez was also in the room. No questions asked.
It is mind-boggling that Otaola — who parades as a champion for a free Cuba — refuses to join Roger Stone and the MAGA movement in pressing Rep. Giménez, and now Rep. Díaz-Balart, to scrutinize and take action against Crowley. Is this the same Otaola who so loudly calls for cutting all business ties with Cuba? Crowley’s dealings on the island, combined with the national security risks posed by the Crowley–Giménez/Díaz-Balart– Cuba–DoD connection, demand urgent attention. Instead, Otaola has chosen to defend and reinforce the forces of America Last and Cuba Last.
