TSA Called to Account for Cuban Delegation’s Miami Airport Tour

TSA officials said the visit was routine and that reciprocal airport visits is necessary to assure the security of international flights.

A demonstration video shows a screen replicating what is seen in the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) new 3-D scanner at the Miami International Airport on May 21, 2019 in Miami, Florida. TSA has begun using the new 3-D computed tomography (CT) scanner in a checkpoint lane to detect explosives and other prohibited items that may be inside carry-on bags. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A House panel quizzed Transportation Security Administration officials on their decision to give a delegation from Cuba, a state sponsor of terrorism and close China ally, a guided tour of Miami International Airport and TSA headquarters in May.

Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, called the TSA’s actions “outrageous” in a July 9 hearing to discuss the agency’s international operations and interactions with adversarial foreign governments—especially the Communist government in Cuba.