A new group backed by Democrats and leftist initiative funder George Soros has purchased a historically conservative Spanish language radio station in South Florida as part of an 18-station buyout. The station being bought out is Miami’s Radio Mambí.
The buyout is being headed up by Jess Morales Rocketto, a former Hillary for America and AFL-CIO employee, and Stephanie Valencia, a former White House staffer during the Obama administration.
Conservatives are fearing that the buyout could lead to conservative Hispanic voices being drowned out in an effort by Democrats to reach Florida’s Hispanic voters.
Cuban Americans who live in Florida, and overwhelmingly have backed Republican politicians and conservative policies, voiced their concerns over the possibility of the new station censoring conservative voices.
“We have grounds to be extremely concerned,” said Sylvia Iriondo, head of Mothers and Women Against Repression in Cuba. “We will resist any attempt to censor the voices of this community represented by these radio stations with all legal and legitimate means.”
Another person said their father was a political prisoner in Cuba and said the buyout personally hurt.
“Growing up as a Cuban exile, it was almost a religious act to listen to Radio Mambí,” Irina Vilariño said. “Many of our political acts were mobilized due to their concern. And I think it’s an insult to our community to want to transform it into a leftist radio station, which is in essence what they’re trying to do.”
Florida’s Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez stepped in and referred to it as a “Marxist scheme” and would work to fight back against the takeover.
“While Soros and the radical left attempt to silence conservative and anti-communist voices on Spanish radio, @RonDeSantisFL and I are fighting back,” said Nuñez on Twitter. “Our South Florida community won’t be influenced by leftist indoctrination in the free state of Florida.”
While Soros and the radical left attempt to silence conservative and anti-communist voices on Spanish radio, @RonDeSantisFL and I are fighting back.
Our South Florida community won’t be influenced by leftist indoctrination in the free state of Florida. https://t.co/vvsznv5eYz
— Jeanette M. Nuñez (@JeanetteNunezFL) June 7, 2022
The DeSantis administration responded as well, saying they will be putting out a public service announcement warning of the Soros-inspired takeover.
“Governor Ron DeSantis is taking [on] Soros on his own turf with a Spanish language ad buy on the Soros network, serving as a PSA to Hispanic Floridians to warn of the pro-socialism, radical agenda behind The Latino Media Network,” read a statement the DeSantis campaign provided to Fox News Digital.
“The Soros-funded radical Left is running a scheme to manipulate local media in Florida to push their Marxist agenda on voters,” DeSantis continued. “In Florida, we reject the professional Left and their attempt to infiltrate our state and will always stand for truth and freedom.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Jessica Morales Rocketto” by Jessica Morales Rocketto.
