Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued an investigative subpoena to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), opening an inquiry into whether the organisation accepted money or other support from Cuba and China. The announcement came on Tuesday 10 November, a week after a DSA-backed candidate won a seat in the Florida Legislature for the first time. Uthmeier said his office was examining whether the DSA took contributions or support from what Florida law calls “foreign sources of concern”, including the Cuban and Chinese governments, and whether its fundraising from Florida donors was fully transparent and lawful. The subpoena is a demand for records, not a finding of wrongdoing, and no charges have been announced. No individual has been named as a target. ## What the subpoena covers The inquiry was issued under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the state’s laws governing the solicitation of funds, [the Washington Examiner reported](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4798828/florida-subpoena-dsa-cuba-china-foreign-contribution/). Uthmeier said in a video announcing the move that the state wanted to know where money raised in Florida came from and how it was spent. “Floridians who give to organizations operating in our state have a right to know where that money comes from and how it is used,” Uthmeier said. “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.” The attorney general did not publicly establish that the DSA had received illegal foreign contributions. The subpoena is intended to determine whether foreign support was accepted and whether the group’s fundraising complied with Florida law. ## The trips and fundraising under scrutiny Investigators are looking at DSA-organised delegations to Cuba, where national leaders and members of the organisation’s National Political Committee met Cuban government officials, as well as a separate delegation to China. The DSA has openly organised trips to the island, including a 40-member delegation in October 2025 whose participants delivered medical and school supplies and met Cuban workers, doctors, teachers and artists, as well as government officials. A further delegation, including members from Florida, joined a coalition including Code Pink and Progressive International on the “Nuestra America” convoy to Cuba in March 2026, bringing medical and school supplies and solar panels and meeting Cuban government officials, [the Florida Phoenix reported](https://www.cltampa.com/news/one-week-after-florida-elects-first-democratic-socialist-james-uthmeier-subpoenas-organization-over-alleged-foreign-contributions/). The inquiry also covers fundraising appeals that collected tens of thousands of dollars to pay for the travel and related activities involving Florida chapters. The DSA solicited donations for its Cuba solidarity work through its Venceremos Fund, which it says supports humanitarian assistance and other activities. ## The Florida law behind the inquiry Florida has tightened restrictions on foreign influence in recent years. Legislation passed in 2025, known as SB 700, prohibits nonprofits from accepting donations from entities or individuals associated with “foreign countries of concern”. The list includes China, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, Iran and Syria, as well as the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro, who was removed by US armed forces in January and is awaiting trial on drug cartel conspiracy allegations. Uthmeier’s office said the subpoena would test whether the DSA’s delegations and travel fundraising involved financial or other support from foreign sources that would breach that law. ## Political timing The subpoena follows a strong showing for the DSA in last week’s elections. Six DSA-backed candidates won election to Congress, and in Florida, Democrat Ashley Herrmann, backed by the DSA, defeated Republican incumbent Danny Alvarez in state House District 69 in Hillsborough County. Uthmeier was also on the ballot last week. He narrowly defeated Democrat José Javier Rodríguez in the race for attorney general by less than two percentage points, in his first run for elected office. The DSA movement has grown in profile in the past couple of years, boosted by Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York in the autumn of 2025. That rise has brought renewed attention to the organisation’s international work, in particular its long-standing relationship with Cuba and its calls for an end to the US embargo on Havana. ## What happens next The Florida Phoenix said it had contacted the DSA’s national office and its Florida chapter. A member of the Florida DSA said the organisation had received the inquiry but did not provide an immediate response, while the national office had no comment at the time of publication. For now, the case turns on documents: who donated, where the money came from and how it was spent. Until investigators report back, the central question remains unanswered — whether any foreign money actually reached the DSA, or whether the inquiry will find only lawful fundraising around controversial trips.