Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Tuesday that his office is launching an investigation into the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) over its alleged ties to the Chinese and Cuban governments.
Several Democrat candidates aligned with DSA won significant victories in the midterm elections as the organization works to move the party further to the left.
Uthmeier posted a video on social media in which he argued that “Floridians who give to organizations operating in our state have a right to know where that money comes from and how it is used.”
He continued, “Today, my office issued an investigative subpoena to the Democratic Socialists of America under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and our laws governing the solicitation of funds.”
We are examining whether DSA accepted contributions or support from foreign sources of concern, including the regimes in Cuba and China, and whether its fundraising from Florida donors has been fully transparent and lawful. This includes scrutiny of recent DSA delegations to Cuba, where national leaders and national political committee members met with Cuban government officials, as well as a delegation to China.
The attorney general explained that the investigation also includes “travel fund solicitations that sought tens of thousands of dollars to cover costs for these trips and related activities involving Florida chapters.”
Our laws prohibit accepting contributions from foreign sources of concern. They require organizations to be honest and transparent about how money is raised and used. The subpoena seeks the documents needed to determine compliance.
We will follow the facts, we will enforce the law, and we will not allow foreign adversaries to influence Florida through the back door of nonprofit fundraising.
Today my office issued a subpoena to the Democratic Socialists of America. We’re examining foreign contributions—including from Cuba and China—tied to their delegations and travel fund solicitations. FL law requires transparency. We will hold those who break the law accountable. https://t.co/Xu8MUoDwZb
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) November 10, 2026
DSA’s ties to Cuba’s communist government are extensive. The organization in October 2025 sent a delegation of 40 members to Cuba. The group included its national co-chairs and nine other members of the National Political Committee.
The Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples, a Cuban government body the Treasury Department has sanctioned as an instrument of the regime, hosted the delegation. The DSA sent another delegation in October 2023 that met directly with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. One delegate wrote afterward that the meeting showed that Havana saw the DSA as “potential partners.”
The DSA has vocally opposed U.S. policy toward Cuba. It pushes labor unions and city councils to demand an end to the embargo and to the nation’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. In August, it published a tribute to Fidel Castro calling him “a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle.”
The DSA’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are more subtle. But they are little different from its connection to Cuba. The organization sent a delegation of five members to Beijing last year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Members of the DSA’s China Working Group have been participating in Guizhou events hosted by the CCP. A DSA member spoke at a New York reception welcoming a Guizhou delegation in June 2025.
Internal DSA meeting minutes obtained by Newsweek revealed that members discussed trips to meet Communist Party officials and debated whether to avoid sticky topics like Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China’s treatment of the Uyghurs.