WASHINGTON — Recent protests in Cuba and across Florida against the communist regime are sparking the latest political battle in the Sunshine State, and the demonstrations have given Republicans a new platform to criticize the Biden administration, a strategy that has become a staple of the GOP’s playbook ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. 


What You Need To Know

  • Republicans seek to use Biden's Cuba policies to help win back Congress

  • GOP leaders flocking to Florida to make that case

  • College Park Cafe is a gathering spot for politicians of both parties

  • The owners say they want to ensure politicians know what's going on in Cuba and help

“It’s a pretty big crowd of Cuban people that are coming every week and enjoy the food,” said Ramón Martinez, who owns the College Park Cafe in Orlando with his wife, Barbara.

“My Ropa Vieja is the best I have here, I learned to make Ropa Vieja from my mom,” Barbara Martinez explained. 

Ramón and Barbara Martinez, both originally from Cuba, said they’re serving up much more than their family recipes after last month’s demonstrations in the streets of Havana. 

“More people are coming, interested in finding out what’s going on in our country,” Ramón Martinez explained. 

The couple say their restaurant has also become a staging ground for Democratic and Republican politicians looking to court Cuban voters. They say Rep. Val Demings, who is running to oust Marco Rubio from his Senate seat next year, has made an appearance — along with other politicians.

While they identify as Independent, the Martinez family said they don’t mind the high-profile company. 

“Trying to explain the situation in our country, taking the opportunity that we have a politician in our restaurant to push for our agenda, the liberation of my country,” Ramón Martinez said.

Since the protests, prominent Republicans like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have been flocking to the state, pushing an anti-socialism narrative that likely will play a role in their strategy to take back control of the House of Representatives. 

“I have been very disappointed with the Biden administration with regard to Cuba. They’ve done nothing to get the internet back on,” Sen. Rick Scott said at a GOP leadership press conference in Washington on Aug. 3. 

Scott, heads the GOP’s election arm. The group has financed TV ads, calling on Biden to take stronger action like closing the Cuban Embassy in Washington.

But Democrats point to Biden’s decision to keep former President Trump’s Cuba policy in place and impose additional sanctions. 

“From the president down to his senior advisers, they are actually leading so all Republicans are left with are items for show,” said Christian Ulvert, a South Florida Democratic strategist. 

Democrats lost two Miami House seats in 2020, in part because of poor performances with Cuban-American voters. Ulvert admits there have been some divides within the party.  Prominent progressives have called for an end to the U.S. embargo. He said the party needs to unite or history could repeat itself in 2022. 

“They should come, really experience the stories of what we have lived through so they can speak in an educated way about our positions,” Ulvert said.

For the Martinez family, they said they hope to continue that conversation in their restaurant.

“If I have to talk to Republicans, I will. If I have to talk to the Democrats, I will because I need to explain to them what’s going on and what we need from them, for us to be free,” Ramón Martinez said.