The Fanjuls, Chris Dodd, and Forced Labor
Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul, Jr. is the owner of US-based Florida Crystals and the Dominican Republic-based Central Romana Corporation. Alongside his brother Pepe, Alfy is patriarch of what has been called the “first family of corporate welfare”—a family whose companies benefit by at least $150 million per year through the sugar program in the federal farm bill. For generations, the Fanjuls have shrewdly worked the US political system to extend their handout, contributing big money to members of Congress and forging connections in the executive branch.
One such connection is former US Senator Chris Dodd, who is today part of the Biden administration, acting as “special presidential advisor for the Americas." Dodd is also senior counsel to the Arnold & Porter law firm. Dodd’s government role focuses on economic cooperation and human rights, among other areas. It should come as no surprise that Dodd took lots of Fanjul money for his Senate and presidential campaigns.
In August, Alfy Fanjul sent this letter to his "friend" Dodd, asking him to help lift a ban on imports from Fanjul’s Dominican sugar plantation. The US Customs and Border Protection imposed the ban last November due to forced labor—“the closest thing I’ve ever seen to modern slavery,” said Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, who visited the plantation in 2022.
Biden official Christopher Dodd at the 2017 "Sugar Golf Tournament" in the Dominican Republic
The Fanjul letter is not just an effort to undo Biden administration policy, it’s a glimpse into the smoky backroom from which Fanjul has corrupted American politics.
The gist of Fanjul’s message is this: trust me, not the US government. You took my money, we socialize, so do what I ask, Chris—and keep me posted.
”I am terribly upset,” writes Fanjul: “the CPB was fed faulty information, grossly outdated media stories….we take exception to the suggestion that any company owned or managed by our family would engage in such conduct as to justify the type of sanction reserved for the worse [sic] employers in the world…Chris, we have been friends for a long time … I am a man who can be trusted, as I have been trusted by many American government leaders I have had the privilege to call my friends.”
The letter raises many questions. Did Dodd promise Fanjul he would help lift the WRO? Has Dodd taken any steps in that direction? Who else in the Biden administration has Fanjul lobbied?
We intend to get answers to those questions. And to continue our drive for sugar reform. With your help, we’ll get the job done.