When Romney was not able to raise money from traditional sources , a colleague suggested going to the families of Saladorian drug lords. The de Sola and Salaverria families financed death squads to beat back guerrillas and reformers in the drug afflicted El Salvador.
For a short time Romney worried about the moral issues but, in 1984, he flew to Miami for a meetup. The Central Americans provided 40 percent of the funds Mitt needed to found Bain! As reported in the Los Angeles Times , the de Sola and Salaverria families became Bain’s valued clients.
A lot of this is described on the website of the colleague who tied Romney to Bain, Harry Strachan.
“Over the years, these Latin American friends have loyally rolled over investments in succeeding funds, actively participated in Bain Capital’s May investor meetings, and are still today one of the largest investor groups in Bain Capital,” .
When Romney launched another venture that needed funding — his first presidential campaign — he returned to Miami.
“I owe a great deal to Americans of Latin American descent,” he said at a dinner in Miami in 2007. “When I was starting my business, I came to Miami to find partners that would believe in me and that would finance my enterprise. My partners were Ricardo Poma, Miguel Dueñas, Pancho Soler, Frank Kardonski, and Diego Ribadeneira.” Romney forgot to mention the de Sola and Salaverria families.