Trump hosts Bay of Pigs Brigade 2506, as he courts the Cuban vote in Florida

For the second time, President Donald Trump received the backing of Brigade 2506, a group of Cuban exiles backed by the U.S. government who fought against the regime of Fidel Castro during the Bay of Pigs invasion, promising them “fierce solidarity” with the cause for freedom in Cuba.

“My Administration stands with every citizen of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela in their fight for liberty,” said Trump to a group representing the exiles, who were in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

Also present at the event were U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart; the newly elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Mauricio Claver-Carone; vice president Mike Pence; and several other high-ranking Cuban-American officials.

The Brigade 2506 broke its tradition of keeping neutral during presidential elections to back then-Republican candidate Trump, saying they opposed the policy towards Cuba of former president Barack Obama, who reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba and visited the Caribbean island.

The Bay of Pigs Brigade announced last week they were renewing their endorsement of the president, as he courts Cuban-American voters in Florida during his reelection campaign. On Wednesday, Trump also announced the U.S. was imposing greater sanctions on Cuba, limiting the purchases that can be made by U.S. citizens, including tobacco, rum and hotel rooms.

“The Obama-Biden administration made a weak, pathetic, one-sided deal with the Castro dictatorship that betrayed the Cuban People and enriched the communist regime. I canceled the Obama-Biden sellout to the Castro Regime,” said Trump, recalling his hard-line foreign policy on Cuba.

Among other things, Trump imposed further travel restrictions from the U.S. to Cuba, limited the flow of remittances to the island and hardened his rhetoric around the embargo and human rights abuses. He also blamed the island of supporting the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela by providing intelligence and armed forces.

On its end, the Cuban government has denounced the “aggressive escalation of the United States” against the island nation.

“Not a week goes by without that government making statements against Cuba or imposing new restrictions,” said Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel at the U.N. on Tuesday.

Trump reiterated to the group of veterans that the United States will “never be a socialist country,” a statement he’s made several times in South Florida, home to a large community of Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants.

“The courageous Veterans here today bear witness to how socialism, radical mobs, and violent communists, ruin a nation,” said the president, again linking the Democratic Party to socialist policies, a strategy his campaign has continued to advance in Florida, where polls have shown Trump has broad support from Cuban Americans.

Several weeks ago, a Tweet from Trump claiming he had received a “prize” from Brigade 2506 in 2016 unleashed widespread criticism on social media among those who oppose Trump, who said the prize did not exist. The Brigade put out a statement backing the president.

On Wednesday, Trump also referenced Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. The president thanked Latinos for all the ways in which they “elevate and inspire” the United States and said they embody the American Dream.

Hispanics are a growing minority in the United States and a record 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential elections. While some Hispanic groups tend to lean toward the Democratic Party, other communities, like Cuban Americans, have traditionally backed the Republican Party.