Hello brucefromhugo,
We would like to see how we can help you with deleting files from your Mac. Follow the steps in this link and let us know if you have any questions: Delete a file or recover a file that you deleted from the Files app
"Delete a file
To delete a file, select it and tap the Delete button
. If you delete files from the iCloud Drive folder on one device, they are automatically deleted on your other devices, too. iCloud Drive removes the files from every device that you're signed in to with the same Apple ID."
Cheers!