Sen. Rick Scott Releases Statement Ahead of Meet the Press Interview with Cuban Dictator

Sen. Rick Scott Releases Statement Ahead of Meet the Press Interview with Cuban Dictator
April 10, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— Senator Rick Scott released the following statement ahead of Meet the Press airing an interview with Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Senator Rick Scott
said, “It is ridiculous for NBC to give a platform to a brutal, illegitimate communist dictator — effectively recognizing him as the legitimate President of Cuba — while he continues to keep the one party communist system, oppressing the Cuban people, jailing innocent political prisoners, and silencing opposition. The Castro/Díaz-Canel regime thrives on propaganda and repression. The American people — and Cuban families across Florida — deserve the truth, not a sanitized interview that legitimizes a dictatorship.
‘If NBC is going to air this interview, they should use it to hold Díaz-Canel and the Castro regime accountable for what they are — an illegitimate communist dictatorship — and ask real questions to expose the truth. Here are five questions they SHOULD be asking:
‘1. Your regime announced a “mass pardon” of over 2,000 prisoners — yet NOT A SINGLE political prisoner was released, despite more than 1,200 individuals still jailed for political reasons, including 11J protesters, according to Human Rights Watch, Prisoners Defenders, Justicia 11J, and Cuban Observatory for Human Rights. Why were none included, and will you publish a full list and commit to releasing EVERY political prisoner without conditions?
‘2. Cuba’s overseas medical missions generate billions of dollars annually while doctors report confiscated wages, seized passports, and coercion — practices widely described as forced labor and human trafficking. Will you commit to end this system, return passports, and pay doctors their FULL salaries directly — or is this simply a malign revenue stream for the regime?
‘3. Cuba continues to host foreign intelligence operations from evil regimes like Iran, China, and Russia, including reported signals intelligence facilities, while maintaining ties to terrorist-linked actors hostile to the United States. If you claim Cuba is not a state sponsor of terrorism, will you expel all foreign intelligence personnel, dismantle these operations, and allow full international verification?
‘4. Under your one-party communist system, Cubans face chronic poverty, shortages, and blackouts, while regime elites enjoy privileges denied to the people. Will you legalize opposition parties, allow independent candidates, and commit to FREE and FAIR multi-party elections with international observers?
‘5. While regime elites — including members of the Castro family — enjoy unrestricted internet and profit from social media, ordinary Cubans face censorship and shutdowns, especially during protests. Recently, even Fidel Castro’s grandson, Sandro Castro, publicly flaunted this privilege while everyday Cubans remain silenced. Will you guarantee full internet freedom for ALL Cubans, even under peaceful protests or demonstrations — or does this double standard prove the system serves elites, not the people?”
Senator Scott
concluded, “The Cuban people deserve freedom, transparency, democracy, and Patria y Vida — not more lies and propaganda. We will not be fooled.”
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https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2026/4/sen-rick-scott-releases-statement-ahead-of-meet-the-press-interview-with-cuban-dictator