Miami Republicans Line Up to Join "Latino Americans for Trump" Coalition

Former president Donald J. Trump has released the members of his "Latino Americans for Trump" coalition to help with Hispanic outreach leading up to the November 2024 general election, and there is no shortage of prominent Miamians in the mix.

The coalition is composed of "notable members of Latino communities from across the country, leaders in all fields, including industry, trade, education, sports, faith, communications, and elected officials." Formerly known as "Latinos for Trump," the group rebranded in an attempt to emphasize that Latinos "are American," Jaime Florez, the Hispanic communications director for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, told NBC News.

"Whether you're African American, Latino American, Asian American, European American, wherever you come from, we are all American," Florez said.

The group's participants run the gamut from Florida lawmakers, to Republican community organizers, to a local pastor who claims he has divine healing powers. Also on the list are a few controversial podcasters and social media figures, including a Miami influencer known for posting bigoted online content about Hindus and Jews.

Sen. Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, and Hialeah mayor Esteban Bovo are among the high-profile Trump devotees whom the former president is tapping to shore up support among Cuban Americans in South Florida, a critical demographic that could lead Trump to again carry the state in the upcoming election. 

Historically, Democratic presidential candidates have won the Latino vote by a wide margin, and the 2020 general election was no exception, with national exit polls showing less than a third of Latinos voting for Trump. However, recent polls show the former president gaining ground among those who identify as Latino or Hispanic.

The results may come as a surprise in light of Trump's statements about immigrants, including his claims they are "poisoning the blood" of the nation. But as anyone who's attended a Trump rally in South Florida can attest, support for Trump among Cuban Americans and other conservative-leaning Latino groups remains strong, owing in large part to his rhetoric hyperbolizing Democrats as Communists.

Latino Americans for Trump claims it is looking to capitalize on growing support for the former president in Hispanic communities. In announcing the coalition, Trump pledged to set records for Latino votes in the 2024 election.

Below are the South Florida members of Latino Americans for Trump, listed in alphabetical order:

Fabio Andrade

Andrade is the president of the Republican Amigos Club, a Broward County-based organization that wants to turn the county red, according to its website. The group's website lists self-described parental rights group Moms for Liberty and the Republican Party of Broward County as its strategic partners. The club has chapters in Miami-Dade, Collier, and Orange Counties. Andrade is currently running for a seat on the City of Weston commission.

David Borrero

Borrero is a Republican Florida House representative for parts of Sweetwater, Doral, and Hialeah Gardens. During the last legislative session, he introduced a bill that would ban the display of LGBTQ pride flags on state or local government buildings including schools and universities. Borrero warned students are being "radicalized and evangelized in the classroom." A former Sweetwater commissioner, he filed another bill that in effect would have banned abortions throughout the state with no exceptions for victims of sexual assault or incest. In April, Trump endorsed Borrero, declaring him "100 percent MAGA" and "a conservative champion for Florida House District 111."

Esteban Bovo

At a Trump rally in November, the Hialeah mayor took the stage to announce he will name a street in the city in honor of the former president. The city council swiftly approved the measure, designating Palm Avenue as Donald J. Trump Avenue. A voice for Cuban American voters who oppose easing U.S. foreign policy pressure on Cuba, Bovo along with Sen. Marco Rubio play an important role in reinforcing the narrative that Democratic policies are tantamount to Communism, a line of rhetoric integrated into Trump's rallies and speeches. Bovo served in the Florida House of Representatives and as a Miami-Dade County commissioner before he was elected mayor in 2021.

Kevin Cabrera

Cabrera has been a fierce defender of Trump while serving as a Miami-Dade County commissioner for District 6. Before joining the commission in 2022, he worked as the state director in Florida for Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. He was captured on video alongside members of the far-right Proud Boys at a 2018 protest pounding on the door of a meeting between then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other local Democratic congressional candidates. (He has denied any affiliation with the Proud Boys.) Trump endorsed Cabrera during his 2022 commission run and backed him in his January bid for vice chair of the Florida Republican Party. Cabrera proclaimed Trump's innocence following Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush-money trial involving porn star Stormy Daniels.

Barbara Casanova

Casanova is an alternative committeewoman for the Republican Party of Miami-Dade as well as the second vice chair, director of membership, and national secretary for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Florida. Her professional profile says she comes from a "storied political family." Her grandfather was a Cuban senator who signed the nation's constitution in Cuba under Fulgencio Batista. Both of her parents were national chairs of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and presidential appointees.

Linda Cuadros

Cuadros is a podcaster and social media influencer who has caught attention for inflammatory and bigoted content. Aside from expressing unflinching support for Trump on social media, she has been documented posting prejudicial content about Jewish people — saying they "only help each other out" — and calling former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy "Hindu boy." She has been active on her social media channels decrying those who backed Trump's opponents in the Republican primaries. Cuadros co-hosts the Mostly Peaceful Latinas podcast with fellow conservative influencer Isabella Rodriguez, AKA "redpillbabe."

Alberto Delgado

Delgado and his wife Mariam run their mega-church Alpha and Omega in Glenvar Heights, with a congregation of more than 5,000 members. The pair consider themselves "among the most influential Hispanic pastors in the U.S. and Latin America." Delgado serves as a Hispanic advisor to Trump "on matters concerning Christian values."

Tom Fabricio

Fabricio is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 110, which includes Miami Lakes and Palm Springs Estates. Following Trump's conviction, Fabricio called it a "politically motivated verdict [that] sets a dangerous precedent" and said it "erodes the foundational principles of our democracy and threatens the very fabric of our legal system." Fabricio works as a commercial litigation and real estate attorney. His statehouse candidate profile says he once earned the Hands On Volunteer Leader of the Year award in Miami for his work with several local organizations.

Tony Figueroa

Figueroa is the president of the Miami Young Republicans. He is also a public relations professional. His social media profile describes him as "part of the next generation of leadership fighting to help" Donald Trump.

Carlos Giménez

After becoming the City of Miami's first Cuban American fire chief, Giménez dove into politics. He served as mayor of Miami-Dade from 2011 until he ran for Congress and unseated Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in 2020. A well-known supporter and defender of the former president, he was photographed golfing with Trump on the day federal prosecutors unsealed a 49-page indictment in the case against Trump over alleged hoarding of classified documents. Following Trump's recent conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush-money trial, Giménez accused Biden of weaponizing the justice system against the former president.

Armando Ibarra

Ibarra is the chairman of Miami Young Republicans and founder of a public strategy advisory firm, Advocacy and Insights. He serves as an advisor to Cuba Decide, a group that advocates for democracy in Cuba.

"Apostle" Guillermo Maldonado

Maldonado, who once claimed Jesus Christ told him during prayer, "I have called you to bring my supernatural power to this generation," is the co-founder and senior pastor of King Jesus International Ministry, a bilingual evangelical megachurch (Ministerio Internacional El Rey Jesús). According to his website, Maldonado is the "spiritual father" to more than 450 churches across 70 nations as part of the Supernatural Global Network. He's claimed he and his ministry have healed parishioners' disabilities and have the ability to perform miracles.

His ex-wife and former senior pastor at the church, Ana Maldonado, accused him of emotional abuse and improperly profiting from the church amid a bitter divorce, allegations which he denied as an attempt to sully his reputation. Trump and other Republican lawmakers including Carlos Giménez have paid visits to Maldonado's church in West Kendall. Maldonado downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic and called fears of exposure a "demonic spirit." In 2019 ahead of a "Evangelicals for Trump" rally at the church, he told undocumented parishioners they would not be at risk of deportation if they attended. At a Trump rally in 2020, Maldonado called the former president, "The presence of the living God."

Alexander Otaola

Otaola, a political activist, influencer, and comedian who hosts the "Hola Ota-Ola" YouTube channel, is running for Miami-Dade County mayor on an "anti-Communist platform." Born in Cuba, Otaola emigrated to the U.S. in the early 2000s and began working on telenovelas and comedy shows. The conservative Cuban-American is known for helping prop up former president Donald Trump on his Spanish-language show geared towards fellow Cuban voters. He sparked controversy when he appeared in blackface on his show in 2017.

Daniel Perez

The Republican state representative for District 116, which includes Sweetwater and parts of West and South Miami, will be Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives for the 2024-2026 legislative term, barring a seemingly implausible upset whereby Democrats would claim a majority in the statehouse. Perez, an attorney by trade, was first elected in a 2017 special election. As reported by the Miami Herald, he previously endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis for president and supported his conservative talking points. His campaign site says he is "committed to standing up to liberal policies that threaten the Constitution and our individual rights as citizens."

Juan Carlos Porras

Porras is the Florida House representative for District 119, which represents parts of unincorporated Miami-Dade, West Kendall, Country Walk, and the Crossings. The 26-year-old was elected in 2022. Leading up to the election, Porras told the Miami Herald that he supports DeSantis' program to send migrants to the northeast and opposes abortion, saying it should not be an option given "the technology and the different methods of contraception" available. He had been part of the group of Florida lawmakers who threw support behind Trump in his battle against DeSantis.

Carlos Reyes

Reyes is the vice president of the Republican Amigos Club in Broward. He previously ran in 2018 for Florida's 23rd congressional district but lost in the Republican primary.

Abraham and Marilyn Rivera

The Riveras serve as the lead pastors of La Puerta Life Center, a Brethren in Christ church in northern Miami. According to Abraham Rivera's profile on the Latino Coalition for Israel, the church teaches parishioners to "live up to their God-given potential with a special focus on those in disenfranchised communities." He serves as Florida representative of the Hispanic Action Network. His wife, Marilyn, was the first woman president of the South Florida Hispanic Ministers Association and lobbies for pro-Israel causes. Abraham Rivera has been outspoken on social issues, telling the Associated Press in March 2023, "We as a society, Christian or not have the responsibility to protect the young ones. You can't have a drink until you're 21, but you can have a sex change when you're 13 or 14."

Anthony Rodriguez

Rodriguez is a Miami-Dade commissioner representing District 10 who also serves as the commission's vice chairman. He represents portions of Westchester and Kendall, among other communities. Before his election to the county commission in 2022, he served two terms as a Republican member in the state legislature representing District 118.

Marco Rubio

The Republican U.S. Senator-rival-turned-Trump-ally is rumored to be at the top of Trump's shortlist for vice president. Rubio, whom Trump nicknamed "Little Marco" on the 2016 presidential campaign trail, became a staunch supporter of his one-time political foe once Trump took office. During a recent appearance on "Meet the Press" in which he cozied up to the former president, Rubio refused to commit to accept the 2024 presidential results, a notable stance after his decision to certify the 2020 election results for Joe Biden following the January 6, 2021, insurrection attempt. The Miami-born 53-year-old has served in the U.S. Senate since 2011. In Congress, he's amassed a long conservative voting record on tax cuts, Second Amendment rights, and abortion, with his positions sometimes shifting with the Republican Party zeitgeist. Prior to his senate tenure, he served in the Florida House of Representatives and worked as House speaker from 2006 to 2008.