Shocked residents captured video of an electronic message board on a MetroLink vehicle that ran the words “Viva Fidel y Raúl,” meaning “Long live Fidel and Raul."
The apparent praise for the Castro regime in Cuba was caught on video by Dayán Ramírez as he was driving on NW 8th Street and 49th Street.
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Ramírez said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“It called my attention because I saw it from far away,” he said. “I said, ‘Could it be? No, it can’t.’”
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He asked his wife to record the van, and then posted it on social media. The video shows the illuminated message on the front windshield of the van toward the passenger's side.
Resident Idael Díaz went one step further, and contacted the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DPTW) to complain.
“The first thing I thought was that the driver of the bus had made the decision to place that message,” Díaz said.
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A statement from Miami-Dade Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, confirmed that the sign "was hacked by external individuals".
"We are deeply concerned that this incident occurred, and strongly condemn the message displayed. DTPW is now working with the external service provider to put additional safeguards in place to strengthen the security of their systems to ensure this does not happen again," Levine Cava said.
MetroLink, a new transportation option in Miami-Dade County, connects residents in areas with limited transportation to key destinations such as the airport, Tri-Rail and Miami Beach.
"I'm extremely offended, and I'm not one to get offended easily," Díaz said. "But to give you an example... it would never be allowed to have a sign saying, 'Long live Hitler.'"
"I don't think it's a tasteless joke either, because it goes beyond that. It's not a joke anymore because it's mocking too many people," Ramírez said.
It was not immediately clear how many other county operated vehicles could be affected.
