‘GTA VI’ Marketing Campaign Idea Criticized by Sheriff: ‘Miami-Dade County Is Not Vice City’
As part of the discussed plans, which have not been formally approved, the Miami airport would undergo a Vice City-inspired rebranding.
ByTrace William Cowen
September 4, 2026
Grand Theft Auto VIwill more or less take over the world when it mercifully launches this November, but don’t expect Miami-Dade County officials to be partaking in the jubilation.
In fact, Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, a Republican, has gone as far as to issue a statement condemning talks of a potential marketing push in the region that would feature a Vice City-inspired rebranding of Miami International Airport.
“Grand Theft Auto is a video game franchise built around criminal activity,” Cordero-Stutz said Thursday (Sept. 3). “Its fictional world includes murder, robbery, drug trafficking, carjacking, violence against law enforcement, and other conduct that the men and women of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office work every single day to prevent.”
Cordero-Stutz continued: “At a time when law enforcement is working every day to reduce violent crime, prevent robberies and car thefts, combat drug trafficking, and build stronger relationships between our deputies and the communities we serve, I believe we need to seriously consider the message we send when our own government promotes a fictional identity centered around many of those same crimes.”
These remarks were released in tandem with a statement from Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, who said he “cannot believe that we are even considering temporarily rebranding important county assets” to commemorate the Rockstar Games blockbuster’s release.
“Miami-Dade County is not Vice City,” reads the closing line of a press release from Miami-Dade County.
Complex has reached out to Rockstar Games for comment. This story may be updated.
In August, The Miamianreported that a rep for Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava had confirmed that “some conversations with Rockstar” had taken place about the possibility of GTA VIactivations in the area, though nothing had been formally approved at the time.
With or without a Vice City-ified Miami International Airport, GTA VI will almost undoubtedly go down as the biggest video game in history when it launches on Nov. 19. Ahead of the release, Netflix recently debuted an extended first-look, which we promptly dissected here.
