Latino Media Network will drop the Spanish Conservative Talk programming on “Radio Mambí 710” WAQI Miami tonight.
In a statement, General Manager Mike Sena said, “For four decades, Radio Mambí has been a gathering place for South Florida and those devoted to the ideal of a free Cuba. Often the market leader in Spanish-language talk, our microphones welcomed presidents, governors, mayors, dissidents and political prisoners, cultural icons, and community voices. We stood with Miami through hurricanes and history. Much like our beautiful city, Radio Mambi, its audience, and the media industry are rapidly evolving, presenting financial challenges for many in the marketplace. Sadly, as of 11:59 p.m. on December 12, we will close our live news/talk chapter and will forge on to new frontiers. We are proud of this legacy and deeply grateful to the colleagues, listeners and advertisers who made it possible.”
WAQI will air archived shows, music, and Spanish-language broadcasts of the NBA’s Miami Heat and MLB’s Miami Marlins for the time being. Fox reports that only one board-op and one salesperson will remain with the remainder of the staff exiting. The demise of “Radio Mambi” follows Latino Media Network’s shutdown of sister News/Talk 1140 WQBA Miami at the end of June.
The “Radio Mambi” brand and format launched in 1985 when Amancio Suárez’s Mambisa Broadcasting Corporation purchased the former WGBS from Jefferson-Pilot Communications and flipped it to a Cuban exile focused Spanish Talk format focusing on anti-communism topics, which would evolve into a heavily Conservative viewpoint. The station would eventually become part of Univision’s Miami cluster until the formation of Latino Media Network with the purchase of WAQI and WQBA along with sixteen other stations in 2022.
WAQI fell to a 1.1 share in the November 2025 Nielsen Audio ratings trailing Actualidad Media’s 1020 WURN’s 2.5 share. The Spanish News/Talk field in South Florida also included Salem’s “La Poderosa 990” WMYM with a 0.6 share and Audacy’s “Radio Libre 790” WAXY with a 0.1 share. Ratings Expert Chris Huff notes that WAQI peaked in Spring 2000 at a 6.7 share, when it was #1 in the market.
