The Cuban-American diplomat and professor Francisco Mora was confirmed this Wednesday as United States ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS). The decision was made after a year and a half of deliberation, by the Senate, with 51 votes in favor and 45 against.
The news was celebrated by Luis Almagro, president of the OAS, in your Twitter accountwho stated that he hoped to continue his organization’s work with the US on the “agenda of democracy, human rights, security in the hemisphere, and sustainable development in the region.”
Francisco Mora, born in Miami and the son of Cubans, was nominated by Joe Biden to fill the position in July 2021, but his approval for the position came after a long period of consideration in the Senate, which had to evaluate his qualities to occupy the post. The diplomat replaces the also Cuban-American Carlos Trujillo at the head of the US embassy to the OAS.
Mora is Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, at the Florida International University (FIU). As an academic, he has investigated relations between the US and Latin America, as well as Washington’s link with Cuba.
Since 2009, he has served as Undersecretary for Latin America in the Department of Defense, one of the highest positions dedicated to the continent within the Pentagon.
Between 2013 and 2020 he directed the FIU Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and offered lectures and courses at various centers of higher education. He also worked as a consultant for the Library of Congress, the Institute for National Security Studies, and the US Southern Command. Since 2009, he has served as Undersecretary for Latin America in the Department of Defense, one of the highest positions dedicated to the continent within the Pentagon.
He is the author of five books on US foreign policy, civil-military relations with the Caribbean, Cuban politics and the military, and the Latin American economy. He received a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Miami, studied at the Catholic University of Peru in 1984, and participated in a program on Central American studies in 1988 in Costa Rica.
Although neither the Government of Havana nor the Foreign Ministry have expressed themselves on the appointment of a diplomat of Cuban origin as ambassador to the OAS, the regime’s discourse is permanently aggressive towards the organization, from which he was expelled in 1962 at the request of the US USA and in which he did not want to rejoin when this decision was annulled in 2009.
In a recent conference, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, evaluated the military situation in Europe and its link with Latin America and Cuba, and assured that the US was trying to “divide the world in two.” “Recent changes have taken place in our region that we embrace with enthusiasm,” he said, referring to the rise to power of so-called “new left” presidents, but, he lamented, “we continue the trend of destabilizing legitimate governments with the participation of the OAS”.
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