Bacardi indictment draws top Republican into donation row
By Adrian Gatton
The Independent on Sunday
26 September 2004
Bacardi has been indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges of making an illegal $20,000 (£13,600) payment to a Republican political group whose founder lobbied against rival Cuban rum brand Havana Club.
The charge against the rum giant is the latest twist in the decade-long “rum war” between the exiled anti-Castro rum dynasty and communist Cuba. At stake is control of the US trademark for Bacardi’s arch rival, Cuban-distilled Havana Club, currently owned by Cubaexport – a joint venture of Cuba and French drinks giant Pernod Ricard …
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Adrian Gatton 