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10/15/09 - Mambi Watch (Miami) - Go Get 'em Mel!

Mel Martinez is a very interesting person. And things just keep getting more
interesting with this man.

Last August, rumors of his early resignation were finally confirmed, and by
early September the first Cuban-American to serve the U.S. Senate was saying
farewell more than a year before the official end of his term. Martinez had
stressed the care of his family being the reason for his early departure,
but Radio Mambi hosts expressed their disappointment with the decision
nonetheless. The people elected him to serve his term, and he let them down
they would say. "I'm sorry if I disappointed," he told readers of El
Sentinel.

But, just two weeks after his Senate farewell speech, he had found another
job. A job where he could fulfill one of his lifelong passions:

"Even though I will no longer hold public office, my passion to work and
devote myself to seeing a day when the people of Cuba can live in freedom
will continue."

Martinez now works for DLA Piper, one of Washington's major lobbying firms.
And, also one of the biggest at hiring former government employees.

But, most importantly, Martinez joins DLA Piper partner Ignacio Sanchez, a
strong supporter of economic sanctions towards Cuba since the 90s, and one
of the authors of the controversial Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.
Sanchez has also been a long-time active member of hard-line Cuban exile
organizations, such as the Bridge of Young Professional Cubans (whose goal
was to "contribute to the overthrow of the Fidel Castro government and the
reconstruction of Cuba"[1]), the Cuban American National Foundation and the
Cuban Liberty Council (CLC).

Some may recall the name Ignacio Sanchez when in 2007 he was pressured to
resign from the CLC due to revelations from Miami Herald columnist Ana
Menendez. It was revealed that Sanchez provided legal representation to a
foreign company with links to the Cuban government (the ultimate taboo for
exile hard-liners and militants).

But, since the 1990s Ignacio Sanchez has been providing his legal expertise
to several foreign companies that want to know more about the
extraterritorial obstacles of the U.S. embargo (which he coincidentally
helped design). What first began as providing legal advise at the law firm
Kelley Drye & Warren, Sanchez now works with the mega-law firm DLA Piper and
also lobbies for some of the largest global companies that stand to win or
lose big once U.S. policy toward Cuba changes.

For example, Sanchez lobbies for the General Cigar Company, "the largest
manufacturer and marketer of premium, imported, hand-made or hand-rolled
cigars" in the U.S. and the company in a trademark dispute with the Cuban
government over the Cohiba brand. Sanchez also lobbies for Diageo PLC, the
"largest multinational beer, wine and spirit company in the world" that
recently lost a bid to buy the makers of Absolut vodka. Diageo lost to
Pernod Ricard, the French spirits consortium that has a joint partnership
with the Cuban government and in a trademark dispute with Bacardi USA over
the Havana Club brand.

So, Mel Martinez and Ignacio Sanchez will make a great team. Both in fact
supported the now-defunct Cuban family travel restrictions back in 2004. At
the time, Sanchez described the restrictions as necessary to "achieve
freedom and liberty." And, Mel Martinez, then running for the Senate seat,
was reported to have "helped craft"[2] the travel measures. But, when Pres.
Obama took steps to repeal the travel restrictions earlier this year
Martinez had a change of attitude and replied warmly with "some suggestions"
[PDF], and even said that the President was "approaching it the right way."

(These remarks made Martinez a target on Radio Mambi, with one regular guest
calling them "infantile and among the stupidest." [@3:37])

Anway, despite the fact that DLA Piper has a whole history of problems
already (related to former House Majority Leader and DLA Piper member Dick
Armey, and controversy over lobbying for a government that was violating
human rights in Africa), I wish the best for Mel Martinez.

Even though his wisdom in the past has not been the best.

[Related articles]
- "A Deal Martinez Couldn't Resist" by Daniel Ruth
- "Martinez, His New Boss Aren't Strangers" by William March

[1] January 17, 1993. El Nuevo Herald. "Jovenes tienden puente de ideas
entre Cuba y Miami" by Ana Santiago.
[2] October 19, 2004. The Miami Herald. "Castor, Martinez get testy on
issues in debate" by Beth Reinhard and Marc Caputo.