2023-10-25 05:30:00
Thirty-one, including Colombia. That is the number of countries in the world that today do not have a US ambassador in office due to the kind of ‘paralysis’ that exists in the United States Senate, where their appointments remain blocked or waiting in a long line to begin the process of confirmation.
(Also: These are the issues that will be discussed at the regional leaders’ summit in Washington)
Some, like the cases of the Bahamas and Azerbaijan, have already completed almost a year and a half headless in the diplomatic leadership.
(You can read: ‘Maduro will never comply with an agreement that could result in his departure from power’)
“The work of our ambassadors is critical to our national security. But they cannot do that job if they are not confirmed,” Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, recently said in a tweet on his X account with which he wanted to put light on the problem.
The list also includes several important Middle Eastern countries such as Israel, Egypt and Lebanon, where the absence of an ambassador is more noticeable at this time, when the region is on the verge of a major crisis after the Hamas attacks in Israel and Tel Aviv’s response to the terrorist attack.
(We recommend: When was the last time the United States issued a global alert to its citizens?)
Israelis at Kibbutz Beeri, near the border with the Gaza Strip.
In addition to Colombia and the Bahamas, in this hemisphere the United States also does not have a diplomatic head in Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti and Barbados.
The rest, the vast majority, are countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.
The bottleneck, in part, is explained by the system that the United States has for confirming ambassadors. Once the president nominates his candidate, they have to be confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Commission and then by the plenary session of the Upper House.
(See also: Family reunification in Canada: this is how Colombians will be able to apply to measure)
But given the internal rules of the Senate, any legislator who is part of the Commission has the power to temporarily stop a nomination if he or she has objections to the candidate.
For this reason, and although the Republicans are a minority in the Upper House, they have been able to stop or slow down the confirmation process with the aim of pressuring the administration to withdraw its nominee and name one that fits their preferences.
It is also a strategy that the opposition uses to obtain concessions from the government in power.
(Also: Ambassador to the US asks congressmen for respect after criticizing Petro over the Israel issue)
In the case of Colombia, the nominee is Elizabeth Manes, a career diplomat. Manes has been 294 days since she was selected by Biden and they still haven’t even scheduled a date for her confirmation hearing.
Jean Elizabeth Manes would be the new US ambassador to Colombia.
Manes has been blocked by several senators who object, among other things, to the handling she gave to diplomatic relations when she was ambassador to El Salvador and ended up leaving due to her confrontations with President Nayib Bukele. In particular, she has crossed paths with Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
At the end of May, the Republican came out in open opposition to his appointment and announced that he would vote against if his name is submitted for consideration.
“After careful review and consideration of her qualifications and performance in previous positions, I cannot support the nomination of Jean Manes to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Colombia. The U.S. diplomatic mission in Bogotá is among the most important strategically for the interests of both our country and for regional stability in the Western Hemisphere,” said the senator.
(Also read: United States renews emergency declaration due to Colombian drug trafficking threat)
According to Rubio, “we need an ambassador who will constructively participate and coordinate with agencies and large interagency teams to effectively promote US interests and defend us from threats in the region, including narco-terrorism, “Illicit trafficking and a destabilizing autocratic narco-regime in Venezuela. I appreciate and respect the service and long career of Ambassador Manes, but I cannot support her nomination for this vitally important position.”
Marco Rubio is one of the senators who oppose the election of Manes as ambassador.
Rubio has not changed his position since then and without his endorsement it is difficult for the nomination to advance.
Speculation has begun that Manes, if the situation does not change, could very soon ask Biden to withdraw his appointment.
The situation has become even more complicated since the opening of corruption charges against Senator Bob Menéndez, who was the president of the Foreign Relations Commission and therefore in charge of scheduling the nominations.
Likewise, the intense legislative agenda that exists in Congress, where aid for Ukraine and Israel is about to be approved, as well as the budget to keep the government running, has complicated the legislative calendar and therefore there is little time for confirmation of officials.
Given the importance of Colombia in the hemisphere, Washington appointed Francisco Palmieri as ambassador in charge after the departure of Philip Goldberg in June 2022.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
En Twitter @sergom68
#United #States #ambassador #Colombia #implies #USA #International