The Fanjul Brothers

On November 23, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Central Romana Corporation, the Fanjul family's sugar operation in the Dominican Republic. The WRO is a formal administrative finding — not a lawsuit, not an advocacy claim — issued by the agency charged with enforcing U.S. import law. CBP found five of the International Labour Organization's eleven forced labor indicators at Central Romana: (1) abuse of vulnerability, (2) isolation, (3) withholding of wages, (4) abusive working and living conditions, and (5) excessive overtime. The workers are predominantly Haitian — many undocumented in the Dominican Republic, therefore unable to leave without losing legal status. Investigations by Reveal/Mother Jones and Cronkite News documented workers housed in company facilities with no electricity or running water, pensions promised and denied, workers cutting cane into their 80s. Central Romana denied the findings. The Fanjuls said nothing. In March 2025, the Trump administration quietly reversed the WRO. A CBP official, speaking anonymously to WLRN, said the reversal had "not followed established processes" and was made "most likely at the top levels." The timeline: Fanjul Corp donated $1 million to Trump's MAGA PAC and $413,000 to the RNC in 2024. The ban was lifted eight months later. The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed July 4, 2025, raised the U.S. sugar loan rate to 24 cents per pound — the first increase in 40 years. Central Romana continues to operate. No member of the Fanjul family has been charged with any crime.

• —CBP Withhold Release Order (Nov. 23, 2022): five ILO forced labor indicators found at Central Romana Corporation.
• —ILO indicators confirmed: abuse of vulnerability, isolation, withholding of wages, abusive working and living conditions, excessive overtime.
• —Workers predominantly Haitian, many undocumented in Dominican Republic. Undocumented status creates structural inability to leave.
• —Reveal/Mother Jones investigation (50+ worker interviews): workers housed in company housing with no electricity or running water; denied promised pensions; some workers cutting cane into their 80s.
• —Cronkite News (2023): documented conditions in Dominican Republic after WRO, independent corroboration.
• —Corporate Accountability Lab: Fanjul Corp donated $1M to Trump MAGA PAC and $413K to RNC in 2024.
• —March 2025: Trump administration lifted WRO. Anonymous CBP official: reversal did "not follow established processes," made "most likely at the top levels."
• —One Big Beautiful Bill (signed July 4, 2025): raised sugar loan rate 24 cents/pound — first increase in 40 years — while Pepe Fanjul was a top Trump donor.
• —Central Romana denied CBP findings. Fanjul family made no public statement. No criminal charges filed.

Florida Crystals — the Fanjul-owned operation — burns its sugarcane fields before harvest, a practice producing dense smoke in communities adjacent to the Everglades Agricultural Area. The communities most exposed are Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay: predominantly Black, predominantly poor. The 2019 ProPublica / Palm Beach Post "Black Snow" investigation used eight years of hospital emergency room data and found a statistically significant spike in ER visits during burn season in Belle Glade. The investigation also documented the burn authorization pattern: Florida Division of Forestry authorizes burns when wind blows toward Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay; denies authorizations when wind would blow toward Wellington and Royal Palm Beach — whiter, wealthier communities west of the Everglades. In 2022, a peer-reviewed study in Environmental Health Perspectives (an NIH publication) documented PM2.5 particulate spikes up to four times baseline on pre-harvest burn days. Exposure to PM2.5 at these levels is linked to lung cancer, cardiopulmonary disease, and premature death. In an active civil lawsuit, Merrell v. Florida Crystals Corporation, plaintiffs allege Florida Crystals markets its products as "Farming to Help Save the Planet" and positioned to "fight climate change" while conducting burns that generate documented health harms. The Everglades Agricultural Area also generates phosphorus-laden runoff flowing into the Everglades, contributing to toxic algal blooms; a 2010 federal court order required EPA to finalize phosphorus standards, and compliance remains contested. The Sierra Club has filed a Title VI environmental justice petition with EPA over the burn authorization pattern. No enforcement action has resulted in a fine against Florida Crystals. The burns continue each season.

• —Florida Crystals burns approximately 10,000 fields per sugarcane season in the Everglades Agricultural Area.
• —ProPublica/Palm Beach Post "Black Snow" (2019): eight years of ER visit data; statistically significant spike during burn season in Belle Glade.
• —Burn authorization pattern documented: approvals granted when wind blows toward Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay (predominantly Black); denied when wind would reach Wellington and Royal Palm Beach (wealthier, whiter communities).
• —Environmental Health Perspectives (NIH, Vol. 130 No. 8, 2022): PM2.5 spikes up to 4× baseline on pre-harvest burn days. Exposure linked to lung cancer, cardiopulmonary disease, premature death.
• —Active litigation: Merrell v. Florida Crystals Corporation — greenwashing claim; Florida Crystals markets products as "Farming to Help Save the Planet" while conducting documented health-damaging burns.
• —Sierra Club Title VI environmental justice petition filed with EPA over racial burn authorization pattern.
• —Everglades phosphorus runoff: federal court order (April 2010) required EPA to finalize phosphorus standards; persistent non-compliance documented.
• —No criminal charges. No civil penalties against Florida Crystals on the burn authorization pattern. Burns continue each season.

On February 12, 1996, Al Gore announced a one-cent-per-pound tax on Florida sugar, with proceeds dedicated to Everglades restoration. The announcement came at 12:56 PM. By early afternoon, Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul Jr. had called the White House. President Clinton stepped out of a meeting to take the call. The call lasted 22 minutes. The penny-per-pound tax was never enacted. This is documented in the Starr Independent Counsel Report — a federal investigation commissioned by Congress. The Fanjuls are in the primary record of the most scrutinized political scandal of the 1990s. The Clinton incident is the most vivid documented example of direct executive intervention by a sugar baron in U.S. regulatory history — a president interrupted his own private meeting to take a 22-minute call from a campaign donor, and the policy at issue died that day. It is not alleged. It is in the federal record. The Fanjul family's political operation spans six administrations and both parties simultaneously: Alfy co-chaired Clinton's Florida campaign in 1992. Pepe backed George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump. Fanjul Corp spent $1.13 million in lobbying in 2024 and contributed $2.93 million in political donations in the 2024 election cycle (OpenSecrets). The U.S. Sugar Program — a system of price supports, loan programs, and import quotas estimated to cost American consumers $2.4 to $4 billion per year — has survived every administration since 1981. In 2025, following Fanjul Corp's $1 million donation to Trump's MAGA PAC and the quiet reversal of the Central Romana forced labor ban, the One Big Beautiful Bill raised the U.S. sugar loan rate for the first time in 40 years. The Fanjuls have received approximately $65 million per year in subsidy-equivalent benefits (2001 estimate, US News & World Report). They have never been charged with bribery. The United States government is on record lifting a forced labor ban at their request while they were its largest sugar industry donor.

• —February 12, 1996: Gore announced penny-per-pound Everglades sugar tax. Alfy Fanjul called the White House that afternoon.
• —Clinton stepped out of a meeting to take the 22-minute Fanjul call. Documented in the Starr Independent Counsel Report.
• —The penny-per-pound Everglades sugar tax was never enacted.
• —Alfy Fanjul: co-chaired Clinton's Florida campaign in 1992. Pepe Fanjul: Bush 41, Bush 43, Rubio, Trump donor.
• —Fanjul Corp: $1.13M in lobbying in 2024; $2.93M in political contributions in 2024 election cycle (OpenSecrets).
• —U.S. Sugar Program: price supports and import quotas costing consumers $2.4-4B/year (University of Nebraska; GAO estimates).
• —2001 estimate: Fanjul family received ~$65M/year in subsidy-equivalent program benefits (US News & World Report).
• —Fanjul Corp donated $1M to Trump MAGA PAC and $413K to RNC in 2024. Eight months later: CBP reversed Central Romana forced labor ban.
• —One Big Beautiful Bill (July 2025): raised sugar loan rate to 24 cents/pound — first increase in 40 years — while Pepe Fanjul is a top Trump donor.
• —No Fanjul family member has ever been charged with bribery or corruption. The U.S. government is on record lifting a forced labor ban at their political moment of maximum leverage.