Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida, published a series of posts on March 16, 2026, expressing strong opinions about political developments in Cuba and efforts against drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere.
In one post, Salazar commented on recent protests in Cuba: “The sound of pots and pans across the island is the sound of freedom, the sound of communism collapsing. The Castro dictatorship is a despicable regime that crushed an entire nation for decades. For decades, the regime’s invincibility lived in the minds of Cubans. That myth is https://t.co/7Ycll1LXRQ” (March 16, 2026).
She reiterated her message in Spanish shortly after: “El sonido de las ollas y sartenes en Cuba es el sonido de la libertad, el sonido del comunismo derrumbándose. La dictadura de los Castro es un régimen despreciable que aplastó a toda una nación por décadas. Durante años, el mito de la invencibilidad del régimen vivió en la” (March 16, 2026).
Later that day, Salazar addressed U.S. policy towards drug cartels: “Durante demasiado tiempo, los carteles han inundado nuestro hemisferio de violencia, drogas y terror. Hoy, gracias a @POTUS y @StateDept, se les está tratando por lo que son: organizaciones terroristas. Que no quepa duda: Estados Unidos seguirá firme junto a nuestros aliados en https://t.co/JDEa0WbZB3” (March 16, 2026).
The posts come amid ongoing tensions between the United States and Cuba’s government—a relationship marked by decades-long U.S. sanctions and calls for democratic reforms on the island nation.
Salazar has been an outspoken critic of both the Cuban government and transnational criminal organizations operating in Latin America.