GTA 6: Miami Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz Says No to Rockstar

GTA 6: Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz rejects Rockstar's plan to model Vice City after the real city.

Rockstar had been negotiating with Miami-Dade for months to turn the airport, the Metromover, and other public spaces into a real-life Vice City to promote the release of GTA 6, but Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez have just said no in a joint statement. The proposal, dubbed "GTA VI x MDC," called for decorating airplanes, train cars, and entire stations with the game’s aesthetic before Rockstar confirmed a release date.

GTA 6 recreates the fictional state of Leonida, modeled after Florida, and uses Vice City as a direct replica of Miami: that’s where the protagonists, Jason and Lucia, spend their time. That’s why the proposal made sense on paper—and why it has set off so many alarms within the county itself.

What Rockstar Proposed for Miami

The leaked plan depicts Miami’s airport with an airplane covered in the Vice City logo, GTA 6-themed baggage claim carousels, and limited-edition luggage carts and tags. The Metromover cars in downtown Miami would feature Vice City colors, with branded signage at major stations. At PortMiami, the concept included a mural featuring shipping containers, cranes, and cruise ships in the background, and there was also talk of transforming Tropical Park. Axios Miami was the first to uncover the document, with screenshots from the very dossier that Rockstar submitted to the county administration.

It’s the kind of production that turns a real city into the backdrop of Vice City for weeks on end—the reference that has been inextricably linked to Miami for over a year in the minds of anyone who follows the Leonida Map.

The sheriff says no

Cordero-Stutz and Bermudez broke their silence with a joint statement that leaves little room for ambiguity. The sheriff points out that the game’s fictional world “includes murder, robbery, drug trafficking, car theft, and violence against the police”—exactly what her job aims to curb every day on the streets. Bermudez proposes an alternative: promoting “the Miami-Dade we’ve built” instead of a fictional version defined by crime and violence. For the commissioner, the campaign “glorifies violence against police and pedestrians,” as reported by CBS Miami after the statement was released.

The judge also asks to be left out

The county’s chief judge, Ariana Fajardo Orshan, has joined the call on her own initiative. She wrote to the mayor requesting that any GTA 6 or Vice City campaign expressly exclude courthouses and judicial buildings from any use in marketing, filming, or signage.

The mayor isn’t giving up yet

The office of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who presented the proposal to Rockstar in June, confirms that there have been discussions with the studio regarding the release of GTA 6, but insists that nothing has been formally approved or signed. This is the standard approach for any public office to leave the door open without having to shoulder the burden of defending the agreement while the controversy rages on.

There is a certain irony to the clash. The city that inspired Vice City in the 1980s is now resisting becoming its own theme park.

Quick Questions

What is the “GTA VI x MDC” proposal?

A plan that Mayor Daniella Levine Cava presented to Rockstar in June 2026 to transform Miami’s airport, the Metromover, and other public spaces with the Vice City aesthetic.

Who opposes the GTA 6 plan in Miami?

Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, in a joint statement, as well as Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan, who is asking that the courthouses be excluded.

Has the agreement between Miami-Dade and Rockstar been signed?

No. The mayor’s office confirms contact with Rockstar but says nothing has been formally approved.