Sen. Rick Scott Featured in Diario Las Américas on Letter to NBC Over Díaz-Canel Softball Interview on Meet the Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Senator Rick Scott was featured in Diario Las Américas regarding a letter he sent to leaders of NBC News and its parent company, Comcast, demanding answers after the network offered Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel a platform on its signature show, Meet the Press, without meaningful pushback.

In the letter, Senator Scott calls out the network's editorial team, including host Kristen Welker, for making no serious effort to press the dictator on his regime's illegal imprisonment of political prisoners, denial of free and fair elections, and its close ties to other authoritarian regimes like China, Russia and Iran.

The letter also builds on the Senator's ongoing efforts to both hold the Cuban dictatorship accountable and fight for the immediate and unconditional release of every political prisoner in Cuba - including a recent letter to President Trump urging him to expand pressure on Cuba's illegitimate Castro/Díaz-Canel regime.

Read the full letter HERE or below. Read more in Diario Las Américas HERE.

Dear Mr. Roberts, Mr. Conde, and Ms. Blumenstein:

I write to you today to express my extreme disappointment in NBC's decision to invite Cuban dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel for a softball interview with Kristen Welker on your network's show, Meet the Press, on Sunday, April 12, 2026, -effectively providing him a platform on American news with no real pushback.

For decades, the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime in Cuba has repressed the Cuban people, refused to hold free and fair elections, and denied its population economic opportunity under a brutal communist dictatorship. Geographically, this regime is the closest foreign adversary to our nation, just 90 miles from my home state of Florida. Your network's failure to adequately highlight the myriad crimes of the Cuban regime and hold Diaz-Canel accountable for them during that interview only lent more legitimacy to the regime to continue this legacy of murder, torture, and oppression.

In Ms. Welker's interview of Diaz-Canel, she called it "an honor" to speak to him. She used him as a foil to President Trump to make Diaz-Canel seem like the victim of the United States, rather than as the despot he really is. The kid-glove treatment of a violent dictator immensely damaged the cause of freedom Cubans have demanded since the communist revolution.

For example, Ms. Welker let Diaz-Canel filibuster her question about stepping down as dictator instead of pressing him on holding elections and letting the people decide the fate of the country. When Cubans demanded "Patria y Vida" in the July 2021 protests, the regime responded with murder, imprisonment, and torture for anyone daring to stand against the regime, including minors.

Recently, the regime promised a so-called "mass pardon" of political prisoners, many from the 2021 protests, after diplomatic discussions with President Trump's administration; however, only one prisoner, Alexander Díaz-Rodríguez, has actually been freed from custody.

After his release, photos made it evidently clear that he was tortured, malnourished, and denied medical care for cancer he was diagnosed with while unfairly imprisoned. This is the policy and legacy of the Castro/Díaz-Canel regime. I have enclosed these pictures for your awareness. This is the reality of the Díaz-Canel regime. It is not something any respectable news outlet should be papering over with softball interviews in good conscience.

Ms. Welker also failed to force an answer from the Cuban despot on questions that I highlighted on behalf of our Cuban community. This included pressing him on:

1. The actual release of political prisoners since his so-called "mass pardon" was announced.
2. The corrupt "overseas medical missions" that routinely confiscate wages and passports, forcing Cuban doctors to be trafficked as de facto slave labor.
3. Cuba's alliance and friendly relationships with authoritarian regimes around the world, including China, Iran, and Russia.
4. The Cuban regime's refusal to allow free and fair elections, and its insistence on continuing its communist governance that leads to shortages and forces its people to remain in poverty.
5. Full internet freedom for all Cubans, not just the favored members of the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime, as well as the right for the Cuban people to peacefully protest their government and safely have their demands heard.

Through this journalistic failure to hold a dictator accountable on one of your network's most-watched programs, NBC tacitly legitimized the regime, which will in-turn leverage that legitimacy to further repress its citizens.

I hope that in the future, your news organization will focus more on journalism that reflects the strong American legacy of a free and fearless press - rather than simply handing a megaphone to dictators.

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