A group of elected officials flew to Panama City last week for the U.S. Embassy’s Fourth of July celebration, at the invitation of Ambassador Kevin Cabrera, a former Miami-Dade County Commissioner and Republican Party committeeman who was tapped for the overseas job by Donald Trump early in his new administration.
But almost all of them said they did so on their own private dime — and not using taxpayer funds.
“It was a great honor to celebrate 249 years of the United States Independence with our new Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera in Panama,” wrote Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia in an Instagram post where she poses alongside Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez, Miami-Dade Commissioner Keon Hardemon and State Rep. Omar Blanco.
“God Bless the USA,” Garcia wrote.
Read related: Miami-Dade’s Kevin Cabrera leaves for Panama, county gets set to appoint
She did not return a call and text to her phone, but according to Ivan Castro, communications director for the Elections Department, the trip was official county business.
“The Supervisor of Election’s trip to Panama was an official trip, at the invitation of the U.S. Ambassador to Panama, Kevin Marino Cabrera, a product of Miami-Dade County. There are also around 90,000 registered voters living in Panama, many of them Miami-Dade County voters,” Castro told Political Cortadito.
“As a public servant, The Supervisor of Elections promotes all democracy in the U.S. and abroad,” Castro said, adding that all expenses were paid personally by Garcia “at o expense to Miami-Dade taxpayers.”
Fernandez was also there on his own dime, said Manuel “Manny” Orbis, the tax collector’s chief of staff. “He went private, paid by himself. It had nothing to do with the office,” said Orbis, who was once also Cabrera’s chief of staff.
Naturally, he and his wife, newly appointed Miami-Dade Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis — who replaced Cabrera on the dais — were also invited. He said they only stayed one night at the La Compañia, a luxury Hyatt hotel that is also the restoration of a historic site in Panama City. Prices range from $200 to $300 a night.
Read related: Is a fix in for the District 6 appointment at Miami-Dade County Commission?
They were back in time for Fourth of July celebrations in Miami-Dade.
Blanco and his wife, a Miami-Dade schoolteacher, spent two nights and three days at the same hotel.
“My wife and I hadn’t spent a lot of time together this year,” Blanco quipped about the his first special session. “So we decided to make it a little vacation.
“I paid my own flight. I paid my own hotel. I paid my own food,” he said.
“I’ve known Kevin for a long time and he invited everybody, all the Dade electeds,” Blanco told Political Cortadito.
Neither Hardemon nor anyone on his staff returned calls from Ladra. And there was no response Tuesday to a query to Nicole Gallagher, Cabrera’s communications director, about who was invited and what the itinerary included.
But in a statement Friday, Cabrera underscored the U.S. government’s commitment to promote prosperity and security not just inside our borders but abroad to U.S. partners.
“President Trump is ushering in a new Golden Age for the United States, an unprecedented era of opportunity and strength,” Cabrera said. “As President Trump has said, ‘the story of America makes everyone free.’
“The United States and Panama have built a strong partnership that strengthens our countries and the entire hemisphere. Under President Trump’s leadership, we seek to expand our cooperation, which will make both countries safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”
Does “expand our cooperation” include taking over the canal, as Trump has threatened to do?
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The deadline was noon Monday for those who want to be considered for a potential appointment to the Miami-Dade Commission in District 6, where Kevin Marino Cabrera sat until he resigned last week to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Panama.
But everyone says the fix is in.
West Miami Vice Mayor Natalie Milian Orbis is the favorite for the post, which could be a two-year-plus appointment and will give whoever gets it ample advantage in the next election, which will be in 2026 if a special election is not called. Milian Orbis is the wife of Cabrera’s chief of staff, Manuel Orbis, who would likely have to get a different position at the county.
Read related: Miami-Dade’s Kevin Cabrera leaves for Panama, county gets set to appoint
Other rumored wannabes included State Sen. Bryan Avila, West Miami Mayor Eric Diaz-Padron and an unknown named Francisco Petrirena, who is the director of the city of Miami’s government relations department.
But Milian Orbis — in a photo with Cabrera here during Dade Days in Tallahassee earlier this month — is the only one who has made her intentions public.
Last week, shortly after Cabrera’s resignation was effective, Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez had the commission auditor establish a process for District 6 residents to apply for consideration. Even before he did that, on the same day (April 14), Milian Orbis filed paperwork about opening a campaign account for the commission seat race.
According to her bio on the city’s website, Milian Orbis began her public service career 20 years ago as an executive administrator at the Cuban-American Association of Civil Engineers before she went to the county where she worked at a number of commission offices through roles such as commission aide, legislative assistant, and legislative director with former commissioners Joe Martinez, Rebeca Sosa and Juan C. Zapata.
If Milian Orbis — or anyone, for that matter — wanted to be considered for an appointment, the individual had to fill out an application that basically consists of an oath and proof of residency. That’s it. They could have also submitted a resume and a video or audio file — two minutes max. But it wasn’t required.
Ladra thinks there should also be a financial disclosure form like there is for regular candidates.
The application period closed at noon Monday. Submissions will be reviewed and considered at the Tuesday, May 6 county commission meeting. So why such a short window? Less than a week.
Read related: Kevin Cabrera tapped as Panama ambassador; so who will replace him?
This could be a second chance for former Coral Gables Commissioner Jorge Fors, who got 39% of the vote in 2022. Ladra doesn’t even know if he wants it. But he is a no-brainer, seeing as how 20,319 people in the district did vote for him. That is something that the commission could argue legitimately. They would not be choosing the appointment. The people did.
Of course, it would be even better to have a special election. But it looks like Rodriguez may want to appoint someone in the meantime, anyway.
“District 6 deserves representation in the most expeditious manner possible,” the chairman said in a statement. “There are too many critical conversations, decisions, and votes that need to be made in the coming weeks and months for the Commission to create a process that will leave our body – and the people of District 6 – without a voice and advocate.”
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Despite pleas from two municipal mayors and the executive director of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities to defer the decision, the five Miami-Dade County commissioners on the policy council moved forward a proposal to put a five-year moratorium on any new annexation or incorporation applications of unincorporated industrial or commercially zoned areas to preserve tax funds and, thus, services.
Two pending annexation applications from Doral and one from Florida City will be exempt. Also exempt: an incorporation application in Northwest Dade.
Oh, and any annexations of single family areas. This is only for commercial and industrial zones.
“Why isn’t anybody talking about the residential areas? Why? Because they cost more to service,” said Commissioner Kevin Cabrera, who sponsored the item, which now goes to the full commission for final approval. “They want to cherry pick the areas that produce revenue.”
Read related: Coral Gables cancels annexation efforts for Little Gables after public vote
Virginia Gardens Councilman Richard Block said their town should also be exempt because of attempts for 20 years to annex 450 acres just west of Miami International Airport, a process he called a “merry-go-round.” He mentioned other cities that have incorporated or annexed in those years and wondered if it’s because Virginia Gardens is a tiny square mile area with about 2,100 residents. In 2022, the county’s planning and zoning board recommended approval of the proposed annexation.
“All these other people got their brass ring and they got their annexations rammed through. We got stymied,” Block said. “We gotta be exempted from this ordinance and we gotta have an up or down vote.”
Miami Springs Mayor Maria Puente Mitchell asked for a deferral so the electeds in all 34 municipalities had “time to digest” the ordinance. “It came about very quickly and I don’t understand the rush.” She and others said there was no emergency. “It’s either a moratorium for all cities, or none at all,” Puente Mitchell said.
Sweetwater Mayor Jose “Pepe” Diaz, once a county commissioner not too long ago, said he understood how the county works but asked for a deferral so that there could be more clarity and understanding of the ramifications.
“We’re all good friends and we’re all trying to find solutions for our future,” Diaz said, asking the policy council not to “fast track” it.
Well, maybe they’re not such good friends.
“This is not a late filed item. This has been on the agenda for a week,” said Commission and Council Chairman Anthony Rodriguez. “If you guys didn’t catch it ’til Friday, I mean, then, lobby up. I don’t know.”
That could sound like the chairman is basically telling people to go through a gatekeeper.
Cabrera, who sponsored the item, said all the proper notice had been made and that it was an emergency because of the budget shortfall the county could be facing for the next five years, in part due to the establishment of the constitutional offices. “It’s a financial emergency,” he said, mentioning an item that passed the commission meeting last week to hire a consultant that would identify efficiencies and cost savings in different departments.
“We’re at a pivotal point in time with the constitutional offices being added,” Cabrera said. “If we continue to allow these areas that support these services, not support these services, what are we going to do?”
Read related: Javier Souto pulls back Westchester incorporation post resident pushback
He cited a memo from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava dated last July that says the proposed annexations of industrial and commercial zones “create significant financial impact” that could lead to adjusted services. “And adjusted services means less services,” Cabrera said.
Additionally, straw polls in both Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens indicated that a majority of the business owners and commercial property owners did not want to be annexed, Cabrera said. Business and property owners west of the MIA zone protested the proposed annexation into Virginia Gardens in January of 2023.
“Why should we raise taxes on small businesses to fund government that is out of control,” Cabrera said. “It’s not those small business fault that your millage rate is through the roof. Why don’t you review your finances.”
“Ultimately, a lot of these are land grabs,” Cabrera said.
Tough talk from someone who is going to be vacating that seat soon for an ambassadorship to Panama.

“A lot of people said they haven’t had time to digest this. It’s eight pages. It’s very simple. Unless its an exclusively residential area, there is a moratorium on annexations. It’s not that hard. If you and all the lawyers and all the members and all the city attorneys, village attorneys, town attorneys can’t figure out eight pages in more than a week, then I don’t know what to tell you, that’s very concerning.”
He saved his harshest words for Diaz.
“Mr. Diaz I know has called everybody under the moon, has not called me, the sponsor of the item. For somebody who says he has a lot of experience in county government, that’s kind of concerning,” Cabrera said. “And when he talks about process… it seems he has short term memory. In 2021, when he rammed through his annexations, which that was a ramming through, committee was waived and then he used his superpowers that is for emergencies related to Covid.”
Read related: Sweetwater annexation adds to tax rolls as Jose “Pepe” Diaz eyes mayor’s seat
“So if we want to talk about process, process was definitely not followed.”
He also reminded Diaz that he had voted in favor of two earlier moratoriums in 2005 and 2007.
“And those were about land grabs. This is because of financial issues,” Cabrera said. “We are protecting the county taxpayer.”
He said the five year term was necessary because the future of the constitutional offices and their costs are still unknown.
Commissioner Rene Garcia said he has always thought the county should all be incorporated and the county commission could just work on regional issues. But he supported the measure because of the uncertainty of future revenues and costs.
“It is a financial crisis, a financial issue that we have that we don’t know what it’s going to look like,” Garcia said.
 
 
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Every year, Miami International Airport beats its own record from the year before — a conduit for 52.3 million passengers and 2.78 million tons of cargo in 2023. Is there going to be a need for a second airport sometime soon?
Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera — who could be months from becoming an ambassador so he’s still a county elected — might think so. He wants a comprehensive study that will look at remaining capacity at MIA and “explore the feasibility of building a new airport to meet future demand,” as explained in a statement from his office.
The commission voted last month to direct the administration to conduct the study and provide a report within 90 days on how a new airport could accommodate cargo, commercial passenger and general aviation operations. The resolution was recommended by the aviation and economic development committee.
“Year after year, MIA sets new benchmarks. But we can’t afford to wait until we hit capacity,” Cabrera said in a statement. “Planning for the future now means more jobs, less congestion, and securing Miami-Dade’s status as a global hub for commerce and tourism.”
Read related: Miami-Dade Commission considers land buy near airport for $17 million
The study will evaluate MIA’s existing capacity, identify potential locations for additional airport infrastructure (read: ka-ching!) and assess funding opportunities and environmental challenges. The idea, the statement says, is to act before there’s a congestion crisis.
“We’re not just reacting to growth — we’re anticipating it,” Cabrera said. “This is about ensuring Miami-Dade is ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow with bold, forward-thinking solutions today.”
But wait just one Skytrain minute. The county already owns two other airports. Miami Opa-Locka Executive Airport (photo left) is 10 miles from the Hardrock Stadium and has the largest Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue operation in the country. The Florida Department of Transportation named it the state’s general aviation airport of the year in 2018. It is also the “premier private airport” in Miami.
It’s 1,880 acres and recorded over 28,000 private jet departures in 2023.
And there’s also Miami Executive Airport in West Kendall, which used to be called the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, one of the busiest general aviation airports in Florida, serving corporate, recreational, flight training, and governmental agency activities with easy access to the Florida Keys.
Are those at capacity? Can those be expanded? Or is there not enough graft to go around that way?

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Well, everyone knew it was going to happen. Even before President Elect Donald Trump had announced his appointment of Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera — who has been instrumental in Trump’s Florida campaign — as ambassador to Panama, everyone knew it was coming.
This week, Trump made it official in a post on Truth Social, saying Cabrera would serve as ambassador to “a country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams.” Trump had said earlier in the week that he wants the U.S. to take over operations and control of the Panama Canal, which means Cabrera is jumping into a fire already.
This is going to be work! Why not an ambassadorship to The Bahamas? Or Turks and Caicos? That would be amazing! Cabrera is not going to get the normal welcome package in Panama.
“Kevin is a fierce fighter for America First principles,” Trump wrote in his post. “As a Miami-Dade County Commissioner, and Vice Chairman of the International Trade Consortium, he has been instrumental in driving Economic growth, and fostering International partnerships. In 2020, Kevin did an incredible job as my Florida State Director and, this year, advanced our MAGA Agenda as a Member of the RNC Platform Committee.
“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin – He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama,” Trump posted.
In a statement released Friday, Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez congratulated Cabrera, who is probably one of his biggest allies on the dais (after Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins). “This nomination is an incredible moment for my colleague, who is very well deserving of this opportunity and will advocate for America’s interest abroad,” Rodriguez said.
The job comes with a salary that ranges from $140,000 to $260,000 a year, according to salary.com. There’s also a budget and the doling out more than $1 million grants.
Ambassadors are also given special residences that they live in free of charge. They also get government subsidized healthcare insurance, life insurance and five weeks of vacation time per year, which includes paid airfare to and from their vacation destination. Ambassadors are also compensated for educational expenses for their family. The amount they receive depends upon the country where they are stationed.
Cabrera, who has got to have been preparing already, is not going to talk to any media until the confirmation is done. No need to provide any ammunition, right? He did make a statement, however, in which he thanked our new POTUS.
“I am eager and energized to join your administration as the next ambassador to Panama,” Cabrera began. “I am committed to supporting President Trump’s America First vision and will work tirelessly every day to uphold his bold approach to international diplomacy. Together, we will ensure that American strength, freedom, and leadership continue to shape a brighter future for all.
“As a first-generation American and the son of Cuban exiles, I am profoundly grateful for everything this country has given me. Representing the United States abroad is a duty I take with the utmost pride. I look forward to the nomination process and engaging with the Senate to discuss my commitment to advancing America’s interests on the global stage.”
But it’s gotta be a done deal. After all, the Senate has plenty to worry about with myriad other appointments. Ladra fully expects Cabrera, who is capable enough (especially in comparison) to fly through confirmation, similarly like Marco Rubio will for Secretary of State. Even though he has that awful picture of him banging on then Congresswoman Donna Shalala‘s door with the Proud Boys when they were hunting Nancy Pelosi down. The only part that’s going to be controversial is the Panama part.
So what happens now? Apparently, Gov. Ron DeSantis only appoints someone to fill in when a commissioner has been suspended. The Miami-Dade commission itself can appoint someone to serve the rest of Cabrera’s term, which ends in 2026, or call for a special election.
In his statement, Rodriguez addressed the elephant in the room: His replacement.
“As we await Commissioner Cabrera’s confirmation in his new leadership role, replacing a Commissioner like Kevin Cabrera won’t be easy,” he said. “In the coming weeks and months, Commissioners will exhaust all efforts to ensure that the people of District 6 continue to have a strong, effective voice on the Miami Dade County Commission as quickly as possible.”
Obviously, they should have a special election. If they can waste hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in useless studies, there is no way they can justify not spending on a special election to have someone who represents the District 6 voters for almost two whole years. But they will try. Because the commission loves to exert its power.
And everyone wants to be a kingmaker.
The Miami Herald’s Doug Hanks said possible choices include State Sen. Bryan Avila, who las malas lenguas say wants it real bad, West Miami Mayor Eric Diaz-Padron, West Miami Vice Mayor Natalie Milian Orbis –who happens to be wife of Cabrera’s office Chief of Staff Manuel Orbis — and Francisco Petrirena, who is the director of the city of Miami’s government relations department.
Fulano who?
 
Now, Ladra is the first one to say bring in the new blood. But Petrirena is basically a lobbyist who, just this June, opened a new business called Biltmore Strategies. Huh? Hope he filed a outside employment form at the city of Miami, where he’s been for barely a year. Before that, he worked for Doctors’ Health Plans and at Brandeis University in Boston, where he was a student in 2017. Reportedly, he came from Cuba in 2015.
Is this really the best option? Or is someone trying to help him climb the political ladder? Who? We have so many wannabe kingmakers.
Ditto with Orbis. This is not a real consideration. Someone floated her name to build name recognition. Maybe she wants to run for mayor of West Miami.
Avila is the frontrunner. He’s been rumored to want to run for this seat for years. Elected to the Senate in 2022, Avila also served as a state rep for eight years. He was Majority Deputy Whip in 2016 and Speaker Pro Temper from 2020 to 2022. Before that, he was a member of the Hialeah planning and zoning board.
Diaz-Padron was first elected mayor in 2022 and then automatically reelected this year with no opposition. He first became a commissioner in 2019 while still a law student at the University of Miami. He serves on the International Trade Consortium with Cabrera, and the Miami-Dade League of Cities as well as the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization.
He told Political Cortadito that he loves serving as mayor of the 6,944 resident town, where he says he’s made progress expanding recreational options and decreasing crime. But he wouldn’t say no to a county post.
“If I can bring that experience to help neighboring communities and still serve my city, I would explore that,” Diaz-Padron said, admitting that he was “watching” the situation. “It’s a long process.”
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