Justice Shouldn’t Be Reserved for the Powerful

As a homicide prosecutor in Miami, I’ve stood in courtrooms where families sit on opposite sides of the aisle, waiting for the truth to land. I’ve put violent criminals who thought they could outrun accountability behind bars. I’ve watched what happens when the system works—and when it doesn’t. What I’ve never believed is that justice should depend on who you are or who you know.

That’s why I support the release of all unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. And why I’m appalled that my congresswoman, Maria Elvira Salazar, for 75 days didn’t take the three seconds to sign the discharge petition to get it done.

These files belong to the public. They don’t belong in some protected vault for the well-connected. And yet, for years, we’ve watched powerful figures use delay, deflection, and denial to avoid scrutiny. Survivors are still waiting. Families are still wondering. And too many Americans have come to expect a justice system that bends for billionaires and corporations and breaks for everyone else.

As a prosecutor, I’ve worked trials where witnesses were scared to speak, where we empowered child victims against predators, and where every decision had weight. You don’t walk into those rooms thinking about headlines. You think about the mother sitting in the front row. You think about the facts. And you know that justice only works when the truth comes to light.

That’s what this fight is about. Truth over politics. Transparency over power.

Not everyone sees it that way. Here in Miami, Maria Elvira Salazar has made a career out of pretending to stand up for justice—while quietly voting to protect the very forces that undermine it. She stayed silent as Trump pardoned violent January 6th rioters who assaulted cops and I helped investigate. She voted to gut Medicare while claiming to defend seniors. And now, as the administration moves to revoke temporary protections for Venezuelans—and threatens similar moves against Cubans and Nicaraguans—she remains silent, failing to speak out when our community needs a voice.

That silence speaks volumes.

My story—like so many in South Florida—starts with a family that believed in this country. My parents came from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, served in the U.S. Army, and raised me in a working-class neighborhood in Hialeah. We didn’t have much, but we believed in hard work and fair play. That’s why I became a prosecutor. That’s why I joined the January 6th investigation. That’s why I’m running for Congress now.

Because people deserve the truth. And they deserve leaders who don’t flinch when it’s time to deliver it.

Unsealing the Epstein files won’t fix everything. But it’s a start. A step toward showing survivors that their voices matter. A signal that no one—no matter how powerful—is above the law.

If I’m elected to represent Florida’s 27th District, I’ll keep fighting to make sure justice doesn’t stop at the top. Not for Epstein. Not for those who attack our police. Not for anyone who believes they’re untouchable.

Because the only justice worth fighting for is the kind that belongs to all of us.

(*) Democrat Robin Peguero will compete for District 27 in Florida, which has a 71% Hispanic population.

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