Democratic Donation Reportedly Sought From Smuggler in Cuba

Congressional investigators have learned a prominent Democratic fund-raiser sought campaign donations from drug smuggler Jorge Cabrera in Cuba, a newspaper reported in today’s editions.

The fund-raiser, identified as Vivian Mannerud, a Cuban-American businesswoman from Miami, told Cabrera at a meeting in a Havana hotel he would be invited to a dinner honoring Vice President Al Gore in exchange for a contribution, the New York Times reported, citing investigators.

The meeting took place in November 1995, the newspaper reported.

When Cabrera returned to the United States, he wrote a check for $20,000 to the Democratic National Committee from an account which included cocaine-smuggling proceeds, the paper said, citing investigators who wished to remain anonymous.

Within two weeks of the contribution, Cabrera met Gore at a dinner in Miami, the paper said. He also reportedly attended a Christmas reception at the White House hosted by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Cabrera, who now is in prison in Miami for drug-smuggling, had two felony convictions from the 1980s, the paper said.

The White House said it had returned Cabrera’s donation in October, according to the account.

Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Amy Weiss Tobe was quoted by the paper as saying: “Once we found out about Mr. Cabrera’s past, we immediately returned the money, and we feel we have put this behind us.”