Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Thursday that he is “deeply concerned” with a new report alleging that a Trump-owned company violated that the trade embargo between the United States and Cuba nearly 20 years ago.
Responding to the story, which was first reported by Newsweek, Rubio told ESPN/ABC’s “Capital Games” podcast that the Trump campaign will need to answer for the allegations, saying that Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts broke the law if the allegations are true.
“This is something they’re going to have to give a response to. I mean, it was a violation of American law, if that’s how it happened,” Rubio said.
Newsweek alleges that Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts funneled money through a consulting firm to prep the company in case trade restrictions were eased by the two countries. Later on, the consulting firm and Trump’s company tried masking the deal by linking the funds to charity.
“I hope the Trump campaign is going to come forward and answer some questions about this, because if what the article says is true — and I’m not saying that it is, we don’t know with a hundred percent certainty — I’d be deeply concerned about it. I would,” he said.
In a statement to the Miami Herald earlier in the day, Rubio called the report “troubling.”
A former presidential candidate and opponent of Trump, Rubio has been an outspoken backer of the trade embargo and an opponent of the Obama administration’s opening of relations between the U.S. and the Cuban dictatorship. He also is a supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign.
