WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL) returned to his homeland of Cuba on March 7, 2025, for the first time in 64 years. Rep. Gimenez traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of a congressional delegation (CODEL) led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) to assess the migrant facilities at the U.S. military base and meet with law enforcement officials.
At the age of six, Congressman Gimenez fled Cuba in November 1960 with his father, Carlos Sr., his mother, Mitzi, and his sister, Mitzi Ann. The Gimenez family was forced to seek refuge in Miami, Florida, following Fidel Castro’s overthrow of President Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Since the Communist Revolution, Cuba has remained under the control of a brutal, dictatorial regime that has oppressed its people for decades.
“For the first time in 64 years, I was able to visit the country of my birth. I am beyond honored to represent our community in Congress and to have been on the only liberated part of Cuba: Guantanamo Bay,” said Congressman Carlos Gimenez.
“As a Member of the Armed Services Committee, I received a first-hand look at the rapid progress President Trump has made to prepare Guantanamo Bay, as a staging ground for violent criminals in our country illegally, as they are repatriated to their respective countries of origin.
“I look forward to continuing working closely with President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, our Cuban exile community, and the brave men and women inside the island to extinguish the murderous Castro regime.”
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Congressman Carlos Giménez represents Miami-Dade County and the beautiful Florida Keys. He is the only Cuban-born Member of the 119th Congress, having fled his homeland shortly after the Communist takeover of the island. He is the first career firefighter paramedic elected to the House of Representatives and served as the former Fire Chief of the City of Miami and Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Rep. Gimenez was appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson to the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents and serves as Vice-Chairman of the Republican Governance Group. He serves as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, the Armed Services Committee, and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.