From Sanctions to Mar-a-Lago: Dodik Reportedly Heading to a MAGA Gala at Trump's, and Republika Srpska Paid for the Road With Millions for Lobbyists

Four years ago Washington was putting him on the sanctions list. Next week, if the information is confirmed, Milorad Dodik will be strolling through Mar-a-Lago.

The former president of Republika Srpska, according to a respected American magazine citing several sources familiar with his plans, is due to attend the CPAC Circle Retreat and Gala, from November 4 to 7, at Donald Trump's residence in Florida. There the American Conservative Union is gathering members of Trump's administration, Republican senators and donors to talk about the results of the November 3 congressional elections and the 2028 presidential race.

Nothing is confirmed yet. The sources warn that details could change, Dodik's office didn't respond, and the head of the Union, Matt Schlapp, won't confirm his arrival: there will be an interesting group of donors and important guests, he says, but the names of those who aren't speakers won't be published. Whether Trump himself will be there is also unknown. A gala with a list nobody wants to show says enough about what kind of guests we're talking about.

The price of a new image

The road from sanctions to Florida isn't free. According to the magazine, Dodik's return to circles close to Trump is the result of a broad lobbying campaign, paid for with millions of dollars that the authorities of Republika Srpska spent after Trump's return to the White House. The goal was for Dodik in Washington to stop being a man under sanctions and become an unjustly persecuted politician and a defender of Christian values.

The names on the payroll sound like Trump's own guest list. Working for Dodik and his associates were Trump's former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, whom Trump pardoned. Also hired was the firm that employs Katie Wiles, daughter of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. And ahead of this year's elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Government of Republika Srpska also hired James Blair and Chris LaCivita, two key political advisers to Trump. When the arrangement became public and Trump criticized them on Truth Social, they donated their fees to the fund for his presidential library.

Dodik didn't hide what this was about. "If it hadn't been for Donald Trump's magnificent victory, we'd probably be political corpses today," he told his supporters after his party's success at the elections. He also sent thanks to Vladimir Putin, whom he recently called one of the most peace-loving leaders of our time.

From the blacklist to Florida

Joe Biden's administration sanctioned him in 2022 for corruption and undermining the Dayton peace agreement, for attempts to create parallel institutions and for stoking ethnic and religious divisions. The sanctions were then extended to his family, associates and firms linked to them. Last year he was finally convicted of defying the decisions of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, lost the post of president of Republika Srpska and received a six-year ban from holding public office. He rejects the verdict as politically motivated.

Then came October 2025: the Trump administration lifted his sanctions, and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control gave no public explanation. According to the magazine, administration officials also sought the departure of High Representative Christian Schmidt, who had clashed with Dodik for years. Schmidt left the post in May this year and later said he had been under great and unexpected pressure from the US.

Diplomats and analysts fear the shift in the American attitude will further embolden his separatist plans and threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Current and former US officials warn that Dodik may try to achieve his goals while Trump is in power, knowing that a possible Democratic administration after 2028 would be less lenient.

The Balkans have spent decades learning to wait: at the counters in Brussels, in the corridors of Washington, with reforms, strategies and progress reports. A man with a final conviction and a ban from office is now, if the sources are right, getting ready for a gala in Florida. So does it turn out that the fastest road to the West doesn't run through reforms, but through the right lobbyist?