The Cuban-American Frank Mora has just taken office as United States ambassador to the OAS. It was a long process of more than a year, during which President Biden’s nomination of him languished in the Senate Foreign Relations committee.
But last month, after overcoming resistance from Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menéndez, he ended up being accepted.
This Wednesday, upon assuming his new position, Mora was particularly harsh when criticizing regimes such as the Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan regimes. In his opinion, the OAS must address “democratic erosion” and not remain silent when governments silence internal voices.
“Each of our delegations must be interested in the erosion of democracy and the corrosive impact of corruption in the Americas,” he said when taking the floor for the first time during a session of the Permanent Council, the entity’s executive body.
Moreover, he stated, “we must not, we cannot remain silent when governments silence the voices of the opposition, intimidate civil society in the media and eliminate democratic institutions to consolidate the power of a single individual, no matter how charismatic or popular is the leader”.
Mora gave Nicaragua, governed by Daniel Ortega, a former guerrilla in power whose relationship with Washington has been especially tense since the 2021 elections, considered fraudulent by the international community and held with the president’s rivals imprisoned or in prison, as a “clear example” exile.
The ambassador again called for “the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners” and called on the OAS to “maintain pressure on the Ortega regime to change course.”
His speech was also delivered against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose latest election is considered fraudulent by the Biden administration.
Confirmed the Cuban-American Frank Mora as ambassador to the OAS
Washington supports initiatives “to ensure that the Maduro regime is held accountable for the atrocities committed against its own citizens,” he said.
But he was also peculiarly emphatic regarding the “terrible situation” in Cuba, where this Wednesday and Thursday a high-level delegation is holding meetings with the Cuban authorities on security issues.
“The world watches as the oppressive Cuban regime continues to harass, arrest, and abuse peaceful protesters, journalists, and independent voices,” he said, referring to the July 11, 2021 demonstrations.
Rubio and Menéndez opposed Mora’s appointment on the grounds that when he was Defense Undersecretary he was in favor of the thaw with the island promoted by then-President Barack Obama. But it is not very clear why both senators ended up giving in.
