A liberal group linked to billionaire George Soros has been cleared by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to purchase Spanish-language radio stations throughout the country, rekindling concerns that a "radical political agenda" will influence information provided to Hispanic voters.
Miami’s iconic, Spanish-language conservative talk radio station Radio Mambi is one of the 18 stations the Soros-backed Latino Media Network will purchase from Televisa Univision for a reported $60 million. Radio Mambi, which is historically linked to the Cuban exile community and offers an anti-communism view, will be controlled by liberals once the deal is finalized.
Latino Media Network, which is partially financed by an investment group affiliated with Soros Fund Management, is controlled by Jess Morales Rocketto, a former Hillary for America and AFL-CIO employee, and former Obama White House staffer Stephanie Valencia.
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The FCC rejected a petition to block the proposed sale.
"We have reviewed the applications and find that Univision is qualified to assign, and LMN is qualified to hold, the licenses for the stations," FCC Audio Division chief Albert Shuldiner said in a decision released on Monday and first reported by Inside Radio.
Spanish-language stations in other major markets, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Antonio are also set to be controlled by the Soros-linked group. Some conservatives, particularly right-leaning Hispanics, have called it an attempt by the left to control the information made available to Spanish-speaking voters.
Radio Mambi staffers have been furious for months, and some of the station’s biggest stars walked away before the FCC even paved way for the deal to happen. Conservative host Lourdes Ubieta quit in July, saying she would never accept a paycheck from anyone connected to Soros.
"America is a free country. Even an avowed global socialist with a clear radical political agenda can buy our media outlets to silence their opposition," Ubieta told Fox News Digital.
"It’s also a country where we can leave such a workplace, start our own radio station at Radio Libre, and beat the pants off that socialist in the ratings," Ubieta continued. "George Soros tried talk radio once before with Radio America and failed miserably. And today Miami market ratings show he’s on his way to defeat again, even before he gets started."
Audacy's new Radio Libre 790 launched in September in advance of the planned Soros takeover, offering Miami’s Spanish-language conservative talk radio market an alternative. Former Radio Mambi hosts Nelson Rubio, Dania Alexandrino and Ubieta are all on the new station that broadcasts content from upstart Americano Media.
Media Research Center Latino director Jorge Bonilla has been critical of the planned Soros takeover for months and believes it’s an attempt to control the narrative in key voting districts.
"With the last significant roadblock removed, the Soros-backed Latino Media Network can finalize its purchase of the Univision stations, neuter or kill anti-communist bastion Radio Mambi, and attempt to exert influence upon the 2024 election across the nation’s top Hispanic markets, which include such places as the Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, TX) and Las Vegas," Bonilla wrote. "The establishment of ‘Radio Soros’ as a trusted purveyor of information is critical to the next stage of The Great Spanish-Language Disinformation War we’ve seen unfold over the past few years."
