{"id":457,"date":"2026-05-13T21:32:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=457"},"modified":"2026-05-13T21:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:32:07","slug":"miami-influencer-alex-otaola-faces-defamation-lawsuit-involving-minor-accuser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=457","title":{"rendered":"Miami influencer Alex Otaola faces defamation lawsuit involving minor accuser"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade court accuses Cuban-American influencer and former Miami-Dade Republican mayoral candidate Alexander Otaola of helping publicly expose and defame a minor who had accused one of Otaola\u2019s political allies of unlawful sexual conduct.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=455\">Little Havana park will be Miami\u2019s first for children on autism spectrum<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The 35-page complaint, filed by Ronaldo Mosqueda Toledo, claims Otaola and attorney Lisbet Velazquez used Otaola\u2019s online show, \u201cHola! Ota-Ola,\u201d to reveal the identity of the teen, who was 17 at the time of the sexual misconduct allegation, and portrayed him as \u201ca psychopath,\u201d \u201ca rat\u201d and \u201ca despicable human being\u201d during a July 18, 2025, broadcast streamed on YouTube and other social media platforms.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit says Otaola and Velazquez knowingly disclosed identifying information about a minor whose identity was protected under Florida law after the teen reported alleged sexual abuse by Andy Santana Zamora, a former campaign treasurer for Otaola\u2019s 2024 Miami-Dade mayoral campaign.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The former campaign manager for Otaola was arrested on Oct. 3, 2024, and charged with sexually assaulting a Hialeah teen after providing him with drugs.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>However, the Miami-Dade State Attorney\u2019s Office ultimately dropped charges against Santana after the 17-year-old accuser recanted his statements to prosecutors, television interviewers and on social media, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>According to the lawsuit, Otaola and Velazquez not only attacked the teen\u2019s credibility during the broadcast, but also encouraged viewers to \u201cmonitor\u201d and \u201csurveil\u201d him and report information back to Velazquez. The suit claims those actions amounted to defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of privacy protections for victims of sexual offenses.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=454\">Miami-Dade man repeatedly burglarized home, took nearly $14k in property: MDSO<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The suit also claims Otaola\u2019s media company, OTACA Media Productions, benefited financially from the broadcast through advertising, sponsorships and audience engagement tied to the controversy.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against Otaola, Velazquez, Santana and OTACA Media Productions.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Miami Herald attempted to reach Santana, Otaola and Velazquez for comment. Santana and Velazquez did not respond to calls, text or emails, and Otaola declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After losing the election against Levine Cava, Otaola focused his efforts on challenging her victory. A push for a recall effort to oust her from office failed.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=453\">Brooklyn Beckham\u2019s in-laws got sued over their pet. Here\u2019s an update<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new Miami-Dade civil lawsuit alleges defamation involving influencer and political figure Alexander Otaola, Andy Santana, and an attorney identified in the filing as Lisbet Velazquez. The complaint raises claims tied to the public exposure of a minor and questions about political allies, according to court records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miami-dade-county"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Miami influencer Alex Otaola faces defamation lawsuit involving minor accuser - Florida Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=457\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miami influencer Alex Otaola faces defamation lawsuit involving minor accuser - Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new Miami-Dade civil lawsuit alleges defamation involving influencer and political figure Alexander Otaola, Andy Santana, and an attorney identified in the filing as Lisbet Velazquez. 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