Cuban scholar and activist Omara Ruiz Urquiola has brought to light alleged misconduct at Florida International University (FIU) following the abrupt termination of her Mellon grant. The grant, which was part of the Program for Threatened Cuban Scholars in the Humanities, is overseen by the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) at FIU.
In a detailed Facebook post, Ruiz Urquiola recounted her experience over the past three years, describing it as marred by institutional power abuse, deceit, and political pressure that prevented her from participating in the program.
"This nausea is worse than any chemotherapy hangover, and I speak from experience," she wrote, emphasizing the distress caused by the official notice she received nearly six months ago about the cancellation of her Mellon grant by FIU.
The grant, awarded to Ruiz Urquiola in May 2023, aimed to host 12 Cuban academics over individual semesters. This initiative was funded with $750,000 by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in December 2022.
However, Ruiz Urquiola was unable to join the program due to setbacks in obtaining her academic visa. In 2024, she reported these issues, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) attributed the denial to the expiration of the FIU invitation letter.
Ruiz Urquiola claims that Jorge Duany, then-director of the CRI, influenced the State Department to withdraw support for her visa adjustment while she was in Miami.
"Jorge Duany, the orchestrator of this fraud, intervened with the State Department's Office of Cuban Affairs to have my support revoked and my academic visa change denied while I was in Miami," she alleged.
Duany retired in September 2024, and in an interview with CiberCuba that year, he refuted her accusations, insisting that managing immigration status was the scholar's responsibility.
Current Leadership and Continuing Allegations
Ruiz Urquiola also criticized the interim director, Sebastián Arcos, accusing him of being as unscrupulous as his predecessor. She recounted how CRI officials subjected her to an interrogation aimed at finding inconsistencies in her academic background, even requesting contacts to verify her history in Cuban institutions that had previously censored her, which was the very reason for her grant.
On December 10, 2025, she formally requested a probe into CRI's actions from FIU but says she received no response. "This is how mafias operate, reveling in impunity," she asserted.
Political Dynamics and University Autonomy
A key element of her allegations involves Jeanette Núñez, who became FIU president in February 2025. Formerly Florida's lieutenant governor and a political ally of Marco Rubio, Núñez was appointed in what Ruiz Urquiola describes as a blatant disregard for university autonomy, citing it as political interference in public educational institutions.
Ruiz Urquiola also links the alleged actions against her grant to her brother, Dr. Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, who has publicly criticized parts of the Cuban-American activist community supported by Rubio.
"There's a concerted effort to destroy any notion of an autonomous nation through hunger and disease, from both sides of the divide. Both mafias, from within and outside, strive to crush us as a thinking people," she declared.
In July 2019, Ruiz Urquiola was dismissed from the Higher Institute of Design in Havana after over two decades of teaching, a move she and her brother claim was politically motivated by the Cuban regime. This persecution was the primary reason behind her receiving the Mellon grant from the CRI.
Discussing the situation further, she remarked, "I have come to realize the worth of my dignity, something rarely quantified: $50,000 (and counting). Who knows who has pocketed it or what scheme was used to claim it."
Key Questions on Omara Ruiz Urquiola's Case
What was the purpose of the Mellon grant for Omara Ruiz Urquiola?
The Mellon grant was intended to support Cuban scholars under threat in the humanities, allowing them to join a program at FIU for a semester.
Why was Omara Ruiz Urquiola unable to join the FIU program?
She faced difficulties in obtaining an academic visa, with USCIS citing the expiration of her invitation letter as the reason for denial.
How did political factors play a role in this situation?
Omara Ruiz Urquiola suggests that political interference, notably involving Jeanette Núñez and Marco Rubio, influenced the mishandling of her grant and visa issues.