A coalition of Dominican sugar companies with deep ties to American politics is lobbying the federal government over trade and labor issues, according to a recent lobbying disclosure.
Central Romana Corp., the Dominican Republic's largest private employer and one of the companies listed on the Dominican Sugar Industry Coalition's filing, is owned by the Fanjul Corp., a sugar conglomerate whose subsidiaries include Domino Sugar and Florida Crystals. The Fanjul Corp. was founded by Cuban-born brothers now living in the U.S.
Brother Pepe Fanjul is a major Republican campaign contributor, this year fundraising for President-elect Donald Trump, while Alfonso Fanjul, who co-chaired former President Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in Florida in 1992, bankrolls Democratic campaigns and spent the summer fundraising for former Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), according to the Miami New Times. As of this summer, Alfonso was the largest contributor to Dominican-born Rep.-elect Adriano Espaillat's (D-N.Y.) congressional campaign.
Sorini, Samet and Associates co-founder Andrew Samet, once a deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Labor and a legislative director to former Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D-N.Y.) is handling the lobbying work, which is listed as involving "trade and labor issues".
