Benjamin Leon, the Cuban American founder of Leon Medical Centers in South Florida, has been nominated by President Donald Trump as ambassador to Spain. The 80-year-old entrepreneur is an icon in South Florida’s Cuban exile community, whose success personifies the American dream. He is also a philanthropist and an ardent supporter of democracy and human rights in Cuba. Leon joins four other Cuban Americans chosen by Trump to fill high-level positions in his new administration.
Trump chose Benjamin Leon, 80, a Cuban American businessman who donated about $3 million to Trump causes during the campaign, as his pick for U.S. ambassador to Spain. He is a longtime backer of Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for Secretary of State, and shares some of Rubio’s anti-Castro government views.
‘Benjamín is a very successful businessman, equestrian enthusiast and philanthropist. He came to the United States from communist Cuba at age 16, with just five dollars in his pocket, and built his company, Leon Medical Centers, into an incredible business,’ Trump said in a statement announcing the selection late Thursday.
With Spain continuing its slide down into socialism, Benjamin Leon, who has seen communism destroy the country of his birth, will make an excellent representative of the U.S. and freedom in Madrid.