Eric Trump’s Uruguay trip cost taxpayers nearly $100K: report

One of President Trump’s sons made a business trip to Uruguay in early January that cost taxpayers $97,830 to put Secret Service and embassy staffers in hotel rooms, according to a new report.

Eric Trump visited the South American nation on behalf of the Trump Organization before his father’s Jan. 20 inauguration, The Washington Post reported Friday.

In the coastal town of Punta del Este, Eric Trump met with real estate brokers, dined at a beachfront eatery and spoke at an “ultra exclusive” party at Trump Tower Punta del Este, according to the report.

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The Secret Service spent $88,320 on hotel rooms, according to purchasing orders analyzed by the Post, and the U.S. Embassy in the capital city of Montevideo paid another $9,510 so staffers could stay in hotel rooms and “support” the Secret Service for the “VIP visit.” The president’s immediate family receives Secret Service protection by law.

The Post said Trump’s stop was brief — as little as two nights — according to a review of local press stories and social media.

The Trumps do not own the Punta del Este project, the Post noted, but license their name to developers there. The 26-story tower is scheduled for completion in late 2018.

The Trump Organization has been paid between $100,000 and $1 million for the Trump branding, according to the president’s financial disclosure filing in May.

Condos there run between $550,000 and $8 million, it added, and its advertisements list amenities including waterfall pools, a massage room and a private theater.

CEO Juan Jose Cugliandolo told The Associated Press on Jan. 26 his company had sold 65 percent to 70 percent the tower’s condos.

President Trump said he would step away from day-to-day operations at the Trump Organization last month before his inauguration. But he has refused to give up his ownership stake, and critics point to the potential conflicts of interest that creates.

Management of the company went to Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who continue to attend official White House events.