Rich Waltzer, the main donor to the campaign of the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, would have made a million-dollar deal with the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, something that could affect the search for the Republican candidacy of the official for the 2024 presidential elections.
An Associated Press news agency report, published in 2004, notes that Waltzer boasted that his company, Splash Tropical Drinks of Fort Lauderdale (now known as Procurement Systems, Inc.), made considerable profits selling drinks to the dictator.
“You’re paying cash upfront… There’s nothing better than that,” Waltzer said when talking about his business on that occasion.
Information that came to light at that time indicates that the beverage company sold $1 million worth of colas, juice concentrates, ice cream, and daiquiri mixes to Cuba over a four-year period.
The business could be done thanks to a law promulgated in the year 2000, which allowed North American companies to sell food and agricultural products to the Greater Antilles.
Although Waltzer and his beverage company claimed that the entire operation was for humanitarian purposes, the program was always rejected by the Cuban exile community.
Similarly, it is known that DeSantis’ main donor was involved in other similar situations with the Castro government.
Among these is a political event organized in 2009, in which attendees were urged to donate to the Democratic Party so that it would end the embargo on Cuba. Similarly, he made donations to the New Cuba PAC, an organization that advocates ending any trade sanctions against the Castro regime.
Despite these dealings with the Castro regime, Waltzer and his wife continue to openly support DeSantis’s campaign, recently using their social networks to share their participation in an event in Deer Valley, Utah, as courtesy guests of the governor of Florida.
While the exact amount of the money Waltzer donated has not been revealed, the fact that DeSantis has accepted funding from someone who came to make deals with the late dictator Fidel Castro has generated discontent among the Cuban-American community and Republican militants in the US, for that this could end up affecting the number of votes received by DeSantis.
The Swamp is…HUGE.
Rich Waltzer, Mega Donor to Ron DeSantis’s campaign, prided himself on making millions off Fidel Castro.
“You’re paying cash up front… It doesn’t get any better than that,” Waltzer said of Castro.
Waltzer’s company, Splash Tropical Drinks… pic.twitter.com/08qjYRSm0e
— Ángel Tur (@angelitoTur) July 27, 2023
GOP fundraiser Caroline Wren expressed concern about the current situation and questioned DeSantis’ absence from the state, all while the official grapples with an insurance crisis.
Everything seems to indicate that the Republican campaign is not going through its best moments, since it is known that he recently fired members of his team and plans a possible strategic restart with new speeches.
