Former Cuban political prisoner given eviction notice. Mayor Levine Cava steps in

Ana Lazara Rodriguez, the former Cuban political prisoner who has been waging a legal battle since February to remain in her home, received an eviction notice on the door of her Miami home Saturday morning.

She had until Monday to vacate the premises, according to the notice, but that was until Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stepped in and ordered the Miami-Dade Police Department to postpone the eviction until Tuesday.

“It’s important to make sure Ms. Rodriguez has every opportunity to seek remedy in the legal system,” Levine Cava said.

This extra day gives Bruce Jacobs, one of the attorneys representing Rodriguez, time to file an emergency motion on Monday asking the Third District Court of Appeal to continue to stay the eviction so he can present his case to the Florida Supreme Court.

Attorneys David Winker and Roy Wasson are co-counsel. All are working pro bono.

“We did not know this was going to happen on Sept. 11. It is not something we were expecting to see,” Jacobs said. “There are a million people about to be evicted and I don’t know why they’re rushing [Ana] to the front of the line.”

This would mean yet another stay of eviction. The latest reprieve was granted on Aug. 26. Judge Peter L. Lopez granted Jacobs a delay until Sept. 10 to argue the case before the Third District Court.

This is also not the first time Levine Cava has stepped in right before Rodriguez would be evicted. On June 2, the day Rodriguez was scheduled to be evicted, she ordered MDPD to stand down.

Jacobs has already begun the process of presenting his case to the Florida Supreme Court. On Friday, he filed a motion asking the Third District Court of Appeal to certify two questions related to Rodriguez’s case.

Jacobs argues that Bank of New York Mellon, which foreclosed on Rodriguez’s three-bedroom home in 2018, committed fraud and violated Florida’s RICO statute by using a robo-signed mortgage assignment and later a forged rubber-stamped endorsement by Countrywide. Forgery is a crime in Florida.

He is also asking anyone who is sympathetic to Rodriguez’s case to donate to the Save Ana’s House Defense Fund.