Former Puerto Rico politician slaps Trump campaign with cease and desist over photo used in ad

Former Puerto Rico Sen. Juan Hernández Mayoral (D) sent a cease and desist letter to the Trump campaign on Wednesday, asking for the removal of a photo from a new ad.

The ad, dubbed “Reconstruyendo,” or rebuilding, opens with an image of now-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and former Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla (D).

“It has come to my attention that Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. has made an unauthorized use of a personal photograph that was of my own creation and taken on my private phone on July 11, 2014 at 4:00PM in Nashville, Tennessee,” wrote Hernández in a letter to Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien.

Hernández, a prominent Puerto Rico Democrat, wrote that he did not grant permission for his image to be used, and asked the campaign to remove it from the spot, which is airing in Florida and parts of Puerto Rico.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ad in question, which was released on Tuesday, is part of a push by both major presidential candidates to woo central Florida’s Puerto Rican voters.

Florida, which has more Puerto Rican residents than any other state, is a key battleground for the presidential campaign.

In the ad, Trump lays blame on Biden for U.S. policies that have hurt the island’s economy, and takes credit for reconstruction following Hurricane Maria in 2017 and a series of recent earthquakes.