fered their help in any way they could,” Trujillo said. “Now, obviously, the good times are rolling, and everyone’s celebrating the win. But 2021, 2022 and the beginning of 2023 were some very, very difficult times for the Trump loyalists.” Trujillo did indeed stay close. The legal side of his firm represented Trump in New York when New York Attorney General Letitia James brought a fraud lawsuit against Trump, his family and his business empire. In part, Trujillo said that was because he saw the start of the “weaponization” of the justice system against Trump, something that the administration veteran said started in 2017 with the Russian meddling investigation and continued through federal prosecutors raiding Mar-a-Lago in 2022 and ultimately indicting the former President.
with Trump has become a coveted thing in Washington — as has, frankly, a connection to the Sunshine State where the President’s second successful campaign was headquartered. Walking through the Continental Strategy offices in Washington, photographs of lobbyists with leaders in the administration adorn the walls, as does a framed Wall Street Journal article with the headline: “In Trump’s Washington, It Pays to Be From Florida,” with an inset photograph of Trujillo noting his role in the first Trump administration. And Trujillo isn’t the only member of the Continental team close with members of the current administration. Managing Partner Alberto Martinez served for years as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate Chief of Staff.
lot of the big commodities brokers, upstream suppliers are in Florida.” Of the 150 or so major clients for the firm, about three-quarters, Trujillo said, are global companies. Many are focused on tariff policy and international trade deals, and Continental boasts senior counsel George Bogden, former Executive Director of the Office of Trade Relations, as one of Washington’s top experts in the field. Many clients want information about accommodations that can be made to existing tariff rules, but Trujillo said he has also worked with companies on how to avoid the costs with cheaper onshoring and shortening of supply chains. But what will the level of connections and expertise mean for the firm when Trump’s time in Washington ends — or,
“We represent three of the largest banking families in Central America. All of them have correspondent banking relationships in Florida. A lot of the big commodities brokers, upstream suppliers are in Florida.” – Carlos Trujillo “Some of the most terrible people in the history of the United States have not been treated this way. And it’s coordinated and it’s orchestrated,” Trujillo said, visibly disgusted by Trump’s treatment. “My parents escaped communist Cuba, and you hear these stories of weaponization of government. You hear these stories of public executions and sham trials and everything else. And you live your entire life in the United States thinking this will never happen here. This is the United States of America. This is the greatest country on Earth. “Honestly, there were points here in 2022 and 2023 saying this could definitely happen, and it’s happening right now. And if they’re able to destroy this person who has not only a massive following, but also personal resources in order to defend themselves, what could they do to me and my family?” Of course, Trump wasn’t executed, and was able in 2024 to return to power in a nearly unprecedented comeback campaign. Since then, a relationship
Among the firm’s other partners, Craig Carbone served in the same capacity for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. Alex Garcia originally hails from Florida and worked on Trump’s Florida and Michigan campaigns. Partner John Barsa, who led the U.S. Agency for International Development for part of Trump’s first term, worked for the late U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, a South Florida fixture for decades. Danny Gomez earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida International University. The many Sunshine State connections aid the firm not only with Trump, but with the disproportionate number of White House staffers, Cabinet Secretaries and agency heads who started their own careers in Florida. On top of that, South Florida commerce increasingly plays a key role in the global economy and any connections to the U.S. “We represent three of the largest banking families in Central America. All of them have correspondent banking relationships in Florida,” Trujillo said. “A
as could happen sooner, his power level simply loosens? Trujillo founded the firm when Democrat Joe Biden occupied the Oval Office and still found work. And he said his tenure in the first administration gave him valuable experience working with a Democratic Congress. As he offers advice to clients on policies made today, it’s done with the awareness that the legislative branch may be inclined to exert itself over more matters after the 2026 Midterms. “I personally lived in oversight under Democratic control,” he said. “Those who haven’t experienced oversight kind of take it for granted and don’t understand that, No. 1, it’s real, No. 2, it is very, very cumbersome, and No. 3, if you’re on the lobbying side, it’s very, very expensive to defend yourself in oversight. I think it’s just something that we take into account in the decisions we’ve made over the last year in advising our clients and the decisions we make every day.”
Fall 2025
INFLUENCE
|
101