The Cuban National American Foundation was founded at a time when Republican American politicians, after the election of Ronald Reagan, were looking for a lobbying organization made up of Cuban-Americans. The CANF was founded in 1981, with "sizeable contributions" from the board members who were the "male leaders of Miami's financial and import-export sector", running companies that had business interests in Latin America and stood to gain from Reagan's policies that protected investment overseas. The first president of the organization was Jorge Mas Canosa, president of a construction company, and the first executive director was Frank Calzon, who had directed a Washington-based lobbying group. The organization had claimed to be non-partisan, but in practice its policy proposal were aligned with that of the Reagan government, including for instance its support for Radio Martí, a US-government sponsored propaganda radio station that aimed to bring down the Cuban communist government. The CANF's support proved important in overcoming obstacles and passing the bill. Following this important early success, the CANF also lobbied for related US foreign policy operations, including the invasion of Grenada, and supported the anti-government forces during the Angolan Civil War. It supported for the Caribbean Basin Initiative of 1984, which directly benefited the businesses of the board members.