MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) – As South Florida prepares to welcome the world for the FIFA World Cup and the G20 summit, a U.S. lawmaker representing the Sunshine State is helping local authorities with their plans to step up security.
Over $5 million in federal funding will help the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office with enhancing deputy presence and improving rapid threat response — especially with the World Cup coming up this summer and Doral will be host to the world leaders during the G20 summit in December.
Monday morning, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart presented two separate checks to MDSO.
Each check will be going to a specific project. One check, for $4.2 million, will go toward buying equipment such as a unified command center, mobile field force gear and cybersecurity equipment.
The other $1.05 million will be used to buy two district mobile operation centers, which serve as mobile workstations for big events and critical incidents, with technology to help with investigations.
“This community and this department is always on the forefront of technology, of being the best in the country but that cost money,” said Diaz-Balart.
Cordero-Stutz said the money will be used to enhance the security of these international events.
“These are all really important events in our community that we want to ensure go off safely and securely, and that everyone who visits our county feels the positivity of the impact,” said Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz. “We work with our local partners, but we are the sheriff’s office, and it is absolutely on our shoulders to do our very best for our community.”
The money comes from a federal bill that was signed into law earlier this year that had a focus on increasing funding for law enforcement.
Before they started talking about these funds, Diaz-Balart presented the sheriff a copy of the congressional record that he filled out on her behald in recognition of Women’s History Month in March.
The new funds come after chaos ensued outside Hard Rock Stadium in 2024 when supporters stormed the gates and tried to crawl through the vents to get inside the Copa America Final without tickets.
Cordero-Stutz said with this new money, the sheriff’s department will be able to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
“That allows us to have the proper funds to provide safety and security at these major events, to maintain security at these major events, to have a location where we can join forces with our state and federal partners to ensure the security. As you all know, communication on those events are very important,” she said.
She also said that their World Cup security plan is ready.
“We are three years deep into preparing for the World Cup, we have a very, very fluid and effective plan. We continue to monitor the intelligence as it comes and. And we’ll be ready to pivot as necessary,” said Cordero-Stutz.
We’re just a couple of months away from kickoff. You’ll be able to watch several World Cup matches on WSVN 7 starting in June.
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