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Radio Caracol, 1260 on the AM dial, has long been a staple of Spanish-language radio in Miami. This month, Caracol is being sold to a Hialeah-based media company called Am茅rica CV, which also owns a Spanish-language TV station in Hialeah, Am茅rica TeV茅, Channel 41.

In years past, that radio sale might not have turned heads. But as it鈥檚 being finalized, Caracol has booted former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez 鈥� and his popular, four-hour daily talk show "La Hora del Regreso" (Afternoon Rush Hour) 鈥� from the airwaves.

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Martinez is a Democrat 鈥� and Radio Caracol is one of Miami鈥檚 only Spanish-language radio stations that doesn鈥檛 lean to the political right. The new owner, Am茅rica CV, insists it鈥檚 nonpartisan; but the media in its stable, like Am茅rica TeV茅, are widely considered to steer firmly conservative.

And that has raised red flags for many moderate and liberal-leaning listeners 鈥� because they remember how much far-right disinformation they heard on just about every other Spanish-language radio station in South Florida during last year鈥檚 presidential election 鈥� such as, Joe Biden is a communist and Donald Trump won the election.

鈥淚 stepped on too many conservative toes,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen with Caracol. But the way they shut me off like that? That indicates they don鈥檛 want the truth in our community.鈥�

READ MORE: Why Are So Many Latinos Obsessed With Demonizing Black Lives Matter? It's Complicated.

Martinez acknowledges his show could be politically combative. (Republican Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo was a favorite target.) But he claims Caracol canceled him at the behest of Am茅rica CV because of his political affiliation and because he鈥檇 begun warning his audience that Am茅rica CV could turn Caracol into another far-right radio outlet.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e part of this conspiracy of lies,鈥� Martinez said.

Am茅rica CV鈥檚 co-founder and legal spokesman, Miami attorney Marcell Felipe, acknowledges he and Martinez are longtime political foes; but he denies the company had anything to do with Martinez鈥檚 Caracol cancellation and calls it 鈥渁 crisis fabricated by Raul Martinez.鈥�

Caracol鈥檚 general manager, Luis Gutierrez, also insists Am茅rica CV did not pressure him to drop Martinez鈥檚 show. Rather, he argues, he had no choice but to nix it because Martinez鈥檚 swipes at Am茅rica CV were jeopardizing the station's sale, and hundreds of thousands of dollars were at stake.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 risk him on the air telling our audience, 鈥楾his station has become the alt-right, so shut it off and abandon the station,鈥欌�� Gutierrez said.

Still, given what happened during the presidential election 鈥� and afterward with the violent right-wing riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. in January 鈥� the cancellation of Martinez鈥檚 radio show has also alarmed the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington D.C., which asserts it does smack of censorship.

The caucus, made up of Democratic U.S congress members, is calling on the Federal Communications Commission, which approves public-airwaves radio deals like this, to delay the Caracol sale and scrutinize Am茅rica CV.

鈥淲e are concerned that this sale is against the public good,鈥� said Darren Soto, an Orlando congressman and caucus member who fears Caracol may now start airing far-right disinformation in South Florida.

鈥淲e saw many in the South Florida Hispanic Republican community be part of inciting violence in the Capitol. And so these are things that are worthy of an FCC review," he said.

FIRST AMENDMENT FLAG

Some South Florida Hispanic GOP figures did take part in the Capitol violence 鈥� including former state representative candidate Gabriel Garcia, who has been indicted on federal civil disorder charges for his role in the riot as a member of the alt-right Proud Boys group. (Felipe, who is Cuban-American, supported Garcia's failed Republican primary candidacy last year because he felt Garcia's opponent, state Rep. Daniel Perez, was weak on the cause of democracy for Cuba and that Garcia was a stronger advocate. But he says he was unaware of Garcia's Proud Boy ties 鈥� which admittedly were not publicly known until the January riot occurred.)

But media law experts tell 港澳天下彩there鈥檚 little if any chance the FCC will step into the Caracol dispute. Halting the station鈥檚 sale just because there鈥檚 a fear the new owner will air politically extreme rhetoric, they say, would be a First Amendment violation.

Pedro Portal

/

Miami Herald

For its part, Am茅rica CV says it鈥檚 not true it鈥檚 going to morph Radio Caracol into a right-wing antenna.

鈥淭hat is a false narrative,鈥� said Felipe. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always believed that it鈥檚 in our best interest as a company to present all points of view, and we will in this case.鈥�

Felipe is a leader of the Cuban exile faction that favors a hardline U.S. policy toward Cuba鈥檚 communist regime. He acknowledges Am茅rica CV and the media it owns follow that line 鈥� and so will Caracol. But, he says, that doesn鈥檛 mean Am茅rica CV told Caracol to cancel Raul Martinez鈥檚 show 鈥� and he objects to labeling South Florida Spanish-language radio as far right just because its stations are known for opposing communism.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very discriminatory against Cubans and Venezuelans and Latin Americans from all over,鈥� Felipe said. 鈥淭he people creating this controversy, they鈥檙e saying: if you believe in the freedom of Cuba, then you are a right-wing conservative.鈥�

In the meantime, Am茅rica CV critics promise to watch closely what happens to Caracol programming moving ahead 鈥� with the help of a new $22 million effort, funded by liberal advocacy groups and led by the nonprofit watchdog Media Matters, along with the voter registration group Voto Latino, to monitor disinformation aimed at Hispanics.

But as some point out, $22 million can also buy a lot of Radio Caracols. So a just as important question getting louder in South Florida is: why isn鈥檛 that kind of money being steered toward the creation of more moderate and liberal radio and other media to compete with the right鈥檚 hold on the Latino community here?

鈥淭here does have to be more investment in that,鈥� said Evelyn Perez-Verdia, a Democrat and a Colombian-American media strategist who heads the firm We Are M谩s in Weston.

鈥淧hilanthropists who support Democrats should be creating more programs, more credible media and focused messaging for Latinos to understand who Democrats are.鈥�

At least one Democrat, Martinez, agrees.

Whether or not political censorship was involved in his exit from Caracol this month, he said, 鈥淚 am not going to accept that anybody put a gag on me.鈥�

So he鈥檚 already started a new talk show on YouTube called 鈥淪in Mordaza鈥� 鈥� No Gag.