Million-dollar donation to Trump. Isabela Herrera, daughter of Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini, pledged to donate $2.5 million to the ballroom that U.S. President Donald Trump is building at the White House, months before he pardoned her father, according to an exclusive report published Thursday by The Washington Post.
The donation, pledged in September 2025, was in addition to the $3.5 million Herrera contributed to MAGA Inc., a political committee that supports Trump. The contributions prompted a complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by the Campaign Legal Center, which alleged that she was acting as an intermediary for her father.
Isabela Herrera, daughter of Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini, committed to donating $2.5 million to the White House ballroom project months before Donald Trump pardoned her father, according to a Washington Post investigation.
The contribution, agreed upon in September 2025, added to the $3.5 million that Herrera had contributed to the MAGA Inc. political committee, affiliated with Trump. According to the newspaper, the daughter paid an initial installment of $835,000 on October 14 of that year. The donations prompted a complaint to the Federal Election Commission, in which the Campaign Legal Center alleged that she was acting as an intermediary for her father.
Herrera Velutini had been accused in 2022 of helping to finance the campaign of former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez in exchange for the dismissal of a regulator who was investigating his bank. In August 2025, the charges against the banker were reduced to a minor offense as part of a judicial agreement.
Trump pardoned Herrera Velutini, Vázquez, and a political consultant in January 2026. The White House maintained that the judicial processes had «political motivations.» After the presidential pardon, the banker's lawyer stated that his client was «deeply grateful» to Trump.
The Washington Post investigation, based on internal documents from the fundraising for the ballroom, identified $333 million in private donations. The newspaper noted coincidences between some contributions and favorable decisions by the Administration, but did not establish that the donations determined the presidential decisions. #VPItv
— VPItv (@VPITV) October 16, 2026
Herrera Velutini was accused in 2022 by the Department of Justice of helping finance the campaign of then-Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez in exchange for the removal of a regulator who was investigating his bank. The former governor and a political consultant were also charged.
In August 2025, the charges against the banker were reduced to a minor offense as part of a judicial agreement. A month later, his daughter pledged $2.5 million to the ballroom project, a contribution that had not previously been disclosed.
Records cited by the newspaper show that she paid an initial installment of $835,000 on October 14 of that year.
#16Oct #Venezuela #US #Trump. Isabela Herrera, daughter of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, committed to donating $2.5 million to the White House ballroom in September 2025. Trump pardoned her father in January 2026. – Efecto Cocuyo https://t.co/BOr7SEkAJB
— Reporte Ya (@ReporteYa) October 16, 2026
Trump pardoned Herrera Velutini in January 2026, along with Vázquez and the political consultant. The White House maintained that the prosecutions were politically motivated. According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, the second payment of Isabela Herrera's donation was due in October.
The Campaign Legal Center described Isabela Herrera as an independent financial consultant in her mid-twenties whose only previous political donation had been a $20 contribution to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg in 2020. The organization said it did not receive a response to its complaint, while the FEC declined to comment to the newspaper.
Herrera Velutini's lawyer said after the pardon that his client was «deeply grateful» to Trump for granting him presidential clemency. Neither the banker nor his daughter responded to the newspaper's requests for comment.
The information is part of a Washington Post investigation based on internal documents from the ballroom fundraising campaign, which identified $333 million in private donations.
The newspaper notes that Herrera Velutini's case is one example in which contributions to the project coincided with favorable decisions by the Administration, although it does not establish that the donations influenced those presidential decisions.
