Trump selects Cuban-American businessman as ambassador to Spain

The post of US ambassador to Spain has been vacant since the Dominican-American Julissa Reynoso announced her resignation from the position in June to resume her work in the United States. She had been selected by the still current American president, Democrat Joe Biden.

‘Benjamin is a highly successful entrepreneur, equestrian enthusiast and philanthropist. He came to the United States from communist Cuba at age 16, with only five dollars in his pocket, and built his company, Leon Medical Centers, into an incredible business,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media platform he set up.

The Leon Medical Centers website highlights that León was born in 1944 in the Cuban city of Holguín and settled with his family in Miami-Dade county to provide care to Cuban immigrants, who ‘had a great need for medical services’ and found it difficult to access them ‘due to the language barrier’.

León still needs to receive approval from the US Senate, with no set timeline for such proceedings. The Senate will first prioritise resolving the confirmation of Trump’s top political appointees, who will take office again as president on 20 January.

According to US media reports, since 2023 León has donated at least $3 million to political campaigns, including $1.18 million to the Trump support PAC ‘Make America Great Again Inc’, nearly a million to the Trump 47 Committee, Inc., as well as contributions to the Republican National Committee and Republican campaign committees.

León’s appointment comes at a time of political uncertainty across Europe and the world, and one in which Spain’s future relationship with the US seems uncertain.

In his first term in the White House, Trump had appointed someone from the business sector, Duke Buchan, to represent US interests in Spain and Andorra.