Alex Diaz de la Portilla rides the Trump train to ‘vindication’ in new video ad

Former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who was suspended from office after his 2023 arrest on public corruption charges — including bribery and money laundering — that were later dropped, has a new campaign video for his mayoral bid that could easily be titled The Resurrection of ADLP.
The 30-second spot, which is expected to drop online before the weekend, opens not with Diaz de la Portilla himself but with a couple of loyal voters talking about how their guy was done dirty.
“They wanted to do to Alex the same thing they did to Trump,” says an older man with a blue tile wall behind him.
He’s talking about the arrest in September two years ago on 14 felonies that led to his suspension from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Diaz de la Portilla was accused of taking more than $250,000 in campaign contributions and hotel, food and booze costs from the owners of the Centner Academy in exchange for gifting them a city park they could build a sports dome on for their students. He has always maintained that he was targeted politically in his re-election year.
Another abuelita chimes in on the ad, solemnly: “El que no la debe, no la paga.” Literal translation: He who owes nothing, pays nothing. A better translation: If Alex didn’t do anything wrong, he shouldn’t have to pay any price.
Then come the receipts — or at least, the selective ones. The ad flashes images of Trump and news clips about prosecutors dropping charges against Diaz de la Portilla last year. The words like “victory” and “dismissed charges” are peppered in
Subtle? Not even close.
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The message here is loud and clear: Alex Diaz de la Portilla is positioning himself as Miami’s own mini-Trump — the comeback kid persecuted by “the system,” wronged by the “deep state” of local politics, and finally vindicated by the “truth.” This is part campaign strategy and part redemption tour.
Never mind that the case didn’t exactly end in a sweeping acquittal. The charges were dropped, yes — but after prosecutors struggled to make the campaign finance case stick and a judge tossed out some of the counts. That’s not quite the same as being declared innocent. But in politics, nuance is for losers.
And Diaz de la Portilla knows the optics game better than most.
The video is full of feel-good B-roll: Alex shaking hands, dancing with a little old lady, hugging supporters, one of whom wears a red MAGA hat. There’s upbeat music.
It’s practically a Telemundo telenovela.
But, then again, we can expect one of the other 12 candidates and/or a political action committee to soon produce a video ad with the footage and audio of his arrest. That, too, could be award-winning.
Diaz de la Portilla’s video ad will likely run on social media, WhatsApp, and maybe even some local Spanish-language TV spots if he has enough money — and the same couple accused of bribing him in 2023 have already given $100,000 to his campaign, which paid for the ad, the first of six video ads he is releasing between now and Nov. 4, Diaz de la Portilla told Political Cortadito.
He wouldn’t say what those videos would be about. “No spoilers allowed,” he texted.
This first major message since Diaz de la Portilla jumped into the Miami mayoral race is a big tell. He’s not trying to reinvent himself. He’s doubling down on the narrative that’s always worked for him: that he’s a victim of political persecution who fights for “the little guy.” It’s red meat for his base — the same loyal network of older, conservative, mostly Cuban-American voters who’ve known him and his brothers, and voted for them, since Manny Diaz was mayor.
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And invoking Trump isn’t just symbolic. It’s strategic. The MAGA crowd is loud and mobilized, and Diaz de la Portilla is clearly hoping that their sense of grievance — of being unfairly targeted — translates to sympathy and votes.
Okay, it’s true that the Broward State Attorney’s Office made a mess of the case against ADLP. But this campaign video isn’t about truth or justice. It’s about control of the narrative. It’s about rewriting the story before his opponents — and the voters — remember the details.
It’s political alchemy: turn scandal into martyrdom, turn suspension into “persecution,” and turn dismissal into divine vindication.
Expect to see this theme everywhere as election season heats up. He’ll talk about “forgiveness,” “false accusations,” and “faith in the system.” He’ll smile a lot and say he’s focused on “the future.”
But don’t be fooled — the message under the music is pure grievance politics: They came for me. But I’m still here.
And if it works — if it gets traction with the base — expect Alex to push even harder on the Trump parallel.
Because if there’s one thing Miami politics teaches us again and again, it’s that scandal doesn’t kill careers. It just gives the next campaign ad better footage.
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