In 1977 and 1978 Paul Austin had a series of private meetings with Fidel Castro in Cuba.
The meetings were ostensibly for Coca-Cola business – Coca-Cola had a $27.5 million claim against Cuba for confiscating its properties in 1961.

Because of Austin's close relationship with President Carter these meetings were also a way to create a dialogue about American-Cuban relations.

In his White House diary President Jimmy Carter wrote:
I wanted Paul, as a private citizen, to investigate with Castro the prospects of moving more actively towards reconciliation between the U.S. and Cuba.

The Austin-Castro-Carter relationship and its link to sugar pricing was the subject of a July 1977 column by William Safire in The New York Times.
Playing off of Coca-Cola's slogan, Safire wrote, "The Carter-Coke-Castro sugar diplomacy is not merely a potential conflict of interest.
It's the real thing."
In 1977 and 1978 Paul Austin had a series of private meetings with Fidel Castro in Cuba. The meetings were ostensibly for Coca-Cola business – Coca-Cola had a $27.5 million claim against Cuba for confiscating its properties in 1961.
Because of Austin's close relationship with President Carter these meetings were also a way to create a dialogue about American-Cuban relations.
In his White House diary President Jimmy Carter wrote:
I wanted Paul, as a private citizen, to investigate with Castro the prospects of moving more actively towards reconciliation between the U.S. and Cuba.
The Austin-Castro-Carter relationship and its link to sugar pricing was the subject of a July 1977 column by William Safire in The New York Times. Playing off of Coca-Cola's slogan, Safire wrote, "The Carter-Coke-Castro sugar diplomacy is not merely a potential conflict of interest. It's the real thing."
J. Paul Austin