Following a business trip abroad Conservative Businessman Alki David was raided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during a charter flight from the Caribbean to Los Angeles when it stopped to refuel in Miami.
The raid amounted to nothing more than a fun story, a miserable case of federal bureaucrat overreach, and a case to call for more oversight of the agency and it’s personnel.
The action began leaving Antigua back to Miami, where a flight representative brought Mr. David a document indicating that he needed to prove he had been vaccinated for COVID -19 before he could re-enter the United States.
The executive order had already been rescinded regarding this notice and Mr. David’s attorney, U.S. Senate candidate Ronda Kennedy confirmed this.
Despite this, the airlines continued to parrot the outdated policies and insisted on delaying the flight of a whole business team until the document was signed.
The document was signed with an exemption, but the flight crew was informed that this illegal and invalid document could result in litigation. It is believed during the flight that an alleged CBD or medical prescription onboard may have been a prohibited item, and the crew contacted US Customs.
Upon arrival at Opa Lacka, Florida facility during a refueling, Mr. David’s flight was raided with drug-sniffing dogs and agents. One of the agents began yelling in a hostile manner and proclaimed any filming in the area was illegal and refused to identify herself.
I got a photo of who I call Agent “Karen”, but according to a supervisor, her name is Agent Cuartaz. It was corrected that Americans and others can record per the first amendment to the Constitution.
While Mr. David’s team was allowed entry, he was separated from his support animal and attorney, and despite insistence, he could have access to his attorney he was interrogated for hours and denied legal counsel. He was told he had “no constitutional protections “.
His Visa was revoked and had a “slap on the wrist” fine for what is believed to be a legal CBD item, that customs believed was prohibited.
It was not the disposition of this incident that was the problem as much as an illegal document generating an-conflict that led to an aggressive interrogation and mistreatment of both Americans and non-Americans.
I, myself, am a decorated combat veteran who previously served as an award-winning customs and borders protection agent during the Iraq War, performing the customs duties these agents perform. While most of the agents did their duty and Mr. Silva did end up correcting the action of Agent Cuartaz, I reported Cuartaz to Wash DC headquarters. Customs has since issued an apology for Officer “Crazy Cuartaz” despite this coming via email in passive voice and not clarifying what the punishment was due to privacy laws.
Customs Agents work for the taxpayers and on occasion something they are running a gang or a dive bar in which they can treat people as they see fit.
This speaks to the genius of the founding fathers that knew the government needed to be restrained. James Madison talked about men needing government because they were no angels but also government needs restraint.
Mr. Alki David like Kanye (Ye) West and other conservative figures like ex-President Donald Trump has been the target of frivolous and phony lawsuits and targeted by a weaponized federal government. His support of American Veterans and his admiration for the United States has not wavered despite this incident and we will wait to see if Agent “Karen” Cuartaz is disciplined for failing to self-identify in this raid that turned out to be a nothing burger.
Christopher Neiweem
Is an Iraq War Veteran, Political Adviser, and Writer, and has formerly testified before the U.S. Congress on policy issues impacting Veterans and other industries. He frequently appears on Fox News and CNN and writes national editorials for numerous publications to include USA Today, and U.S. News and World Report. For More Live TV News