After hundreds of antisemitic and racist messages were leaked to several news outlets, affected FIU Students have spoken to PantherNOW and provided exclusive information. The leaked messages included calls for violence against Black people and Jews. Several more messages have been provided to PantherNOW.
Aniela Cabrera, Shane Miller, Jonathan Roman | Staff Writers
Several leadership figures of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, FIU College Republicans (“CRFIU”), and Turning Point USA’s (“TPUSA”) FIU Chapter posted hundreds of antisemitic and racist slurs in a leaked private WhatsApp group chat, according to a report by The Floridian and The Miami Herald.
In an exclusive report, PantherNOW has obtained several more images and interviews regarding the statements made in the private group chat, as well as more exclusively obtained statements from the official FIU GOP WhatsApp group chat. PantherNOW has also interviewed Abel Alexander Carvajal, the owner of the leaked private group chat, and Zuriel Preux, a student directly affected by the situation.
Initial reports by The Floridian and The Miami Herald outlined a group chat titled “Uber Retards Yapping Inc.” which included Dariel Gonzales, the FIU College Republicans’ former Membership Director, who recently applied to become a Committee member for the Miami-Dade GOP, and Ian Valdes, the President of FIU’s TPUSA chapter. Gonzales and Valdes both posted hundreds of racist and antisemitic messages inside the group chat.
The group chat was created by Secretary of the Miami-Dade GOP, Abel Alexander Carvajal, an FIU law student and recently appointed member of the Hialeah City Planning and Zoning Board. Carvajal resigned from his position on Thursday amid national outrage.
An affected student, Zuriel Preux, said she “took a break” from TPUSA and CRFIU after several instances of major concern occurred externally involving members in September.
President Jeanette Nuñez personally addressed the situation in a Thursday Afternoon email to students and faculty, saying, “The alleged conduct continues to be investigated by FIU Police Department in coordination with local, state, and federal law enforcement. In addition, the FIU Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity are actively investigating the matter.”
PantherNOW spoke with Preux on Thursday afternoon about her relationships and time spent with both organizations.
“The one thing I want to say on record is that College Republicans have always, like, called out this behavior,” Preux told PantherNOW.
She said that her issue is not with “the club,” just with individuals involved.
Preux, who has known Caravajal for three years, said, “Abel has always called out behaviors like this before, but I do not know why this time, he has not called out that behavior, or like stayed in the group chat in itself.”
She wasn’t aware of the leaked group chat until news broke out Wednesday night and felt “completely blind sided” by The Floridian.
In the interview, Preux mentioned a similar instance that occurred at FIU in a 2018 PantherNOW Report where justice “wasn’t entirely served.”
“Everyone is calling FIU about what they did in 2018, so I want to give my story to FIU as a chance to do something better,” Preux said.
Caravajal asked in leaked messages why Preux didn’t leave in a racially derogatory way when the topic came up in the leaked group chat. On several other occasions, Caravajal and other members frequently used dozens of variations of the n-word.
Other messages in the chat included calls for violence against Black people and multiple instances of members bluntly saying to kill them.
Within the leaked group chat, Valdes said that he would definitely not marry someone of Jewish descent. Gonzales replied by telling him that if he wanted to sleep with one and not use contraceptives, then the chances are he could end up with a “little [k-word]” running around. The k-word is a commonly used antisemitic slur.
Before the group chat leaked this week, Preux reported her instances to FIU in October 2025. Gonzales and Caravajal would go on to say in the official CRFIU group chat that the people who reported them should have “gone to the bosses”, and not to the press.
It is unconfirmed whether these messages were referencing Preux solely or other individuals.
Within the CRFIU groupchat Gonzales also, in response to another comment, said, “Dude, they’re brown and Jewish. They are NOT Nazis. Just edgy morons.” Gonzales also said that, because the involved members were in a different group chat with “brown people and jews”, they couldn’t be racist.
Photos from October 16th, 2025. Statements refer to a previous leak of the Youth GOP Group chat from a Politico Report. | Images obtained by PantherNOW and confirmed by CRFIU President Gabriela Burstein.
Gabriela Burstein, President of CRFIU, has confirmed with PantherNOW that the above messages are from her organization’s official group chat.
“We have both now publicly condemned the actions of the individuals that have taken a part in this and there is absolutely no room for this behavior, not in the Conservative Party or at FIU,” Burstein said in a PantherNOW interview.
Gabriela was the Vice President/Interim President of CRFIU at the time when both instances occurred.
PantherNOW interviewed Abel Alexander Carvajal on Thursday after multiple publications regarding the private group chat were made. Carvajal denied potential accusations that he was racist.
“It’s wrong. Racism is expressions of hatred over how someone looks. I acknowledged what happened and that it’s wrong,” Carvajal said.
Carvajal also defended the new President of the College Republicans, Burnstein, saying that people implicated in the leaked group chats were not friends of Burnstein, and reiterated that the group chat was “inexcusable.”
“I trust that God has a plan for me, and God’s plans for me are more beautiful than anything I could think of myself,” Carvajal said.
He pointed out that College Republicans had been experiencing a recent wave of factionalism and division, especially with the campaign of controversial far-right Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. Reportedly, several members implicated in the leaked group chats had been actively working for Fishback’s campaign.
Fishback has been a subject of debate among young Florida Republicans, and AI-generated explicit images of Fishback were shared in the same group chat. Fishback is running a youth-focused campaign in direct competition with Byron Donalds, a congressional representative from Fort Myers who has received President Donald Trump’s direct endorsement.
Carvajal said he would be releasing a public statement on Thursday evening.
“I want the world to know that Abel Alexander Carvajal is not racist,” Carvajal said.
Below are further exclusive screenshots of the same members in the official CRFIU group chat exhibiting similar actions, including Gonzales seemingly blaming Jews for destroying several nations and killing thousands of Americans during WW2.
Photos from November 4, 2025. Several messages were deleted by admins after they were posted, and multiple messages remained until they were reportedly deleted after reports on Wednesday evening. | Images obtained by PantherNOW and confirmed by CRFIU President Gabriela Burstein.
Several following messages were deleted by an admin due to violating non-discrimination rules. However, those who posted the messages, including Gonzales, were only removed after The Floridian’s exclusive report on Wednesday evening and a later report by The Miami Herald.
Madeline Baro, FIU’s Senior Director of Media Relations, gave the following statement to PantherNOW on Wednesday evening:
“The university takes very seriously any allegation of discriminatory or threatening conduct. The alleged conduct is under review and will be addressed in accordance with the university’s policies and applicable law. Federal student privacy laws prevent us from sharing specifics.”
FIU PD Chief Alexander Casas provided the following statement to PantherNOW Thursday evening:
“The alleged conduct is being investigated by FIUPD in coordination with local, state, and federal law enforcement as well as FIU’s Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.”
According to the Miami Herald, a private law firm hired by FIUPD refused to provide records relating to the group chats because they “constitute Criminal Investigative Information.”
Several on-campus organizations, including the FIU College Democrats, College Libertarians, College Republicans, and more released statements in the wake of the reports. All organizations involved condemned the messages from the group chats, and College Republicans noted that the involved members were “not representative of conservatism” and were in the process of being permanently removed from the organization.
Turning Point USA released a statement after the TPSU President Ian Valdes was embroiled in the leaked messages:
“The Turning Point USA chapter at Florida International University has been made aware of the recent incident involving chapter leadership. The chapter president has stepped down from leadership, turned over social media, and we are currently reconstituting our leadership team.”
The organization added, “Our chapter remains focused on fostering constructive conversation, supporting our members, and continuing our mission of engaging students in meaningful discussions within the FIU community.”
PantherNOW reached out to Black Student Union and Dr. Charlie Andrews, VP of Student Affairs, for comment.
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