Is it Bayfront Park or Bayfront PAC?
Miami Commissioner Miguel Gabela wants us all to believe that Bayfront Park Management Trust is simply running a public park, efficiently, despite invoices that seem to indicate bloated expenses for PR, multiple logos and an app from obscure companies that were just formed or re-activated last year and who seemingly have no online presence — or other clients.
Well, another stack of invoices has just landed on Ladra’s desk suggesting that this is a pattern.
This time, the paperwork comes from April’s “Salvar a Cuba” or “United for a Free Cuba” rally, a massive production promoted by Gabela himself and held at Bayfront Park.
The event itself wasn’t exactly controversial. Supporting a free Cuba isn’t a hard thing to do. In fact, it should have been better attended. Thousands 
of Miamians, regardless of party, have spent decades advocating for freedom on the island. And it was one of several rallies for the Cuban cause in these days as the people on the island face historic shortages in energy and food and the U.S. administration offers hope — real or false — that change is coming.
But supporting a cause and asking taxpayers to bankroll the production of what could be seen as a campaign or promotional event are two very different things.
According to invoices obtained by Political Cortadito, Bayfront Park Management Trust was billed for an extensive list of event expenses that totaled over $220,000. For a three-hour affair.
We’re not talking about renting a microphone. We’re talking about a production that looked less like a political rally and more like a music festival.
Except nobody went. According to several people there, the weather was bad and attendance was low to almost non existent. Judging by the invoices, there may have been more cops and cleaning crew than attendees.
Read related: From reformer to operator? Miguel Gabela starts to look like the old boss
There are invoices for security. Invoices for police. Invoices for K9 sweeps. Invoices for fire rescue. Invoices for portable toilets. Invoices for ADA facilities. Invoices for barricades. Invoices for lighting towers. Invoices for rigging. Invoices for cable ramps. Invoices for event cleaning. Invoices for janitorial supplies. Invoices for golf carts. Invoices for Live Nation staffing. Invoices for food. Invoices for sound hookups. Invoices for tents. Invoices for hundreds of chairs — even though the FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park has its own seating.
And then there’s one invoice from AxisMiami that simply says: United for a Free Cuba. Amount due: $145,000.
No meaningful breakdown. No itemized explanation. Just one line. More than half of the cost of the rally.
Ladra isn’t saying anything improper happened. Ladra is saying that’s an awfully large number for an invoice that explains almost nothing.
Maybe there’s another attachment somewhere. Maybe there’s a production budget. Maybe there’s a detailed accounting.
Because if there is, taxpayers deserve to see it.
But this isn’t happening in a vacuum.
Readers will remember that Gabela’s tenure as chairman of the Bayfront Park Management Trust has already generated a growing list of questions about expenses.
There were the communications contracts. The consulting agreements. The spending on vendors whose work appeared to mirror work being done through his district office. One vendor who works out of a Doral townhouse and another who works out of a luxury condo unit in Wynwood. Invoices with very little detail and lots of questions.
Time after time, the explanation has been some version of “Everything is appropriate.”
Read related: Miguel Gabela’s D1 counsel runs PAC that got $50K from Ultra Music Festival
Now comes another file. Another stack of invoices. Another event. Another company that didn’t exist a year ago.
Florida Division of Corporations records show AxisMiami LLC was formed in September of last year — 10 months ago — out of a house with a pool on a lake in Hialeah. The company is owned by B-list telenovela actor and aspiring singer Jencarlos Canela, who apparently lives with his dad. Heriberto Canela owns the house. Jencarlos Canela has six other active corporations, according to state records, mostly dealing with the music and entertainment industry.
AxisMiami’s invoice provided zero details on what services or goods were exchanged for $145K. Every other invoice was more detailed.
Ladra could not find a website that listed any other clients or services. Like the other companies, there is no online presence. The only contact 
information Ladra could find was a phone number for a booking agent. Called twice. On the second time I was told in no uncertain terms that they could not get a message to him. Only if I wanted him to sing at a wedding could they present him with that opportunity.
Other interesting expenses include $7,830 to Carne En Vara Express for 174″catering extra plate” at $45 a piece, $11,515 in private security from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for an event that was from 5 to 8 p.m. (at one point there were 23 guards on site), $8,700 for additional security from a different company, $2,400 in barricades and $1,200 in tents. The stack of invoices is posted below.
Both Gabela and his district legal advisor, Jose Sanchez Gronlier, declined to take or return any of Ladra’s calls or answer text messages about this. Or anything else, for that matter. Ladra left messages with the commissioner’s chief of staff, Frank Castañeda, and his communications director, Yilian Garcia. But nobody has called back.
Gabela did post videos on his social media, thanking those who attended, including Sen. Rick Scott, and Commissioners Rolando Escalona, 
Damian Pardo and Ralph Rosado. Who must have been lonely. There are no videos of big crowds posted by any of the self-promoting politicians who were there. But you do catch a glimpse of a lot of empty chairs.
“This event was to pray for the freedom of Cuba,” Gabela said in another video, which is a very obvious self promotion. Photos from this event will be on campaign material next year.
Which leads to the bigger question: What role does Bayront Park play in Miami? Is it a public gathering space or a political platform for whoever happens to be in charge at the time?
The Trust reportedly, on paper, exists to operate one of Miami’s premier public spaces. It rents facilities. Produces concerts. Maintains the park. Hosts festivals.
But veteran Miami watchers know it has been used for much more than that. Didn’t we just go through this with former Commissioner Joe Carollo? He was accused of frequently using the Bayfront Park Trust as an extension of his political identity. Press conferences. Patriotic celebrations. Holiday spectacles. Public events that often blurred the distinction between municipal business and personal political branding.
Read related: Bayfront Park’s new management looks a lot like the old management in Miami
Now Gabela has embraced many of the same themes. Patriotism. Cuba. Freedom. Public rallies.
None of that is inherently problematic.
Until the public agency chaired by the elected official appears deeply intertwined in producing those events with a big yet vague price tag. That’s when people begin asking whether Bayfront Park is functioning as an independent public trust… or as a taxpayer-supported promotional platform for its chairman.
And also, what exactly did those $145,000 pay for?
This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
Cuban Rally Invoices 2027 by Political Cortadito
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