For Weeks, Scott Ran TV Ad Praising and

Accepting Endorsement from Castro Supporter 

For weeks, Rick Scott ran a Spanish-language TV ad announcing the endorsement and holding up as a role model a Castro supporter and convicted criminal. When news of this insulting incident was reported, the Scott campaign refused to apologize, and tried to quietly take down the advertisement without any official announcement. Today, Cuban Floridians demanded an apology from Rick Scott:

“As someone who was a political prisoner in Cuba, I am appalled that Rick Scott would use a known Castro supporter in a campaign advertisement. This is just another way that Rick Scott continues to disrespect the people of Florida. Since he was elected, he has done the exact opposite of what he promised. And in the case of the Cuba issue, he proves yet again that words are cheap and all his pretensions to care about the Cuban people are just that — empty words. Rick Scott owes an apology to the people of Florida,” said Hector Caraballo, a former political prisoner under the Castro regime.

“For Rick Scott to feature a Castro supporter in a television ad targeted to Florida’s Hispanic community isn’t just a mistake, it is an insult we won’t forget. As a Cuban-American whose friends and family have personally experienced the Castro regime’s brutal tactics, I know this issue should be beyond partisan politics. I call on Rick Scott to immediately apologize for accepting the endorsement of a Castro supporter and convicted human trafficker — a person who actually said ’that’s why I support Rick Scott. I’m just like him. I’m like the American Dream’ — and presenting him as a role model to Floridians,” said former Representative Ana Rivas Logan.

“Rick Scott owes Cuban-Americans and all Floridians an apology for promoting a Castro-supporting convicted criminal. As he campaigns for relection, Rick Scott is telling Florida’s Hispanic community he is on their side. But to the thousands of Cubans in Florida whose families suffered at the hands of the Castro regime, Rick Scott’s words ring hollow. Now we are seeing Rick Scott’s true colors: he is a politician who will do or say whatever it takes to win,” said Kissimmee County Commissioner Jose Alvarez.