Miami-Dade

Anonymous Benefactor Steps in to Help Former Cuban Political Prisoner Evicted From Home

The generous supporter has put up the 82-year-old in a five-bedroom house in Miami as she figures out her next move.

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A former Cuban political prisoner who has been facing eviction from her Miami-Dade house for months has finally left her home, but it wasn’t necessarily by force.

“I have been privileged to have the hands of God to help me through very generous people," Ana Lazara Rodriguez said.

As she faced eviction, her lawyer says an anonymous benefactor has stepped in at the last minute to help. The generous supporter has put up the 82-year-old in a five-bedroom house in Miami as she figures out her next move.

“This house has served her well for 20 years, but the sheriff didn’t come because somebody with decency in the Cuban exile community came forward to make this right," said attorney Bruce Jacobs.

The drawn-out legal battle has gone on for years as Lazara says her initial foreclosure was fraudulent by the bank because it included a robo-signed mortgage assignment and a forged rubber-stamped endorsement.

In 2019, the house was sold to Vanessa Veytia out of California. The private benefactor offered to pay Veytia a large sum of money to make up for the profit she made on the home since the purchase, but no agreement has been made.

Lazara and her legal team say they’re happy to have a new roof over her head for now but will keep fighting.

“We’re now going to go back in front of the appellate court and ask for the entire court to rule," Jacobs said.

“All I want to say is that even if my story end like a happy one, it’s not the happy one in the terms of justice," Lazara said.

Lazara’s lawyers say they could also sue the banks involved in her case for damages.

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