Obama Nominates First Ambassador To Cuba In 55 Years

The U.S. may soon have its first U.S. ambassador to Cuba in more than 55 years, as President Barack Obama nominated Jeffrey DeLaurentis for the job on September 27.

DeLaurentis has served as the chief diplomat in Havana, Cuba, since 2014 but must first be confirmed by the Republican-dominated Senate, who has largely opposed efforts at détente between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro, reports USA Today.

“Jeff’s leadership has been vital throughout the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, and the appointment of an ambassador is a common-sense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries,” Obama said in a statement.

DeLaurentis has been a diplomat for many years and has been in Havana as the two countries gradually resumed travel and trade and Washington re-opened Cuban embassies.

“He is exactly the type of person we want to represent the United States in Cuba, and we only hurt ourselves by not being represented by an ambassador,” Obama said. “If confirmed by the Senate, I know Jeff will build on the changes he helped bring about to better support the Cuban people and advance America’s interests.”

But the appointment could prove difficult. Though ambassadors need a simple majority vote to approve ambassadors, Republican senators such as Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, both of whom are Cuban-American, tried to block funding for the U.S. Embassy in Havana and have vowed to vote against any Obama-nominated Cuban ambassador.

“President’ Obama’s appeasement of the region’s only totalitarian regime has been a complete disaster,” Rubio said on September 27. “A U.S. ambassador is not going to influence the Cuban government, which is a dictatorial and closed regime. This nomination should go nowhere.”

And Cruz said in 2015 that Obama’s attempts to reopen the embassies and repair diplomatic ties were “unacceptable and a slap in the face of a close ally that the United States will have an embassy in Havana before one in Jerusalem,” adding that he would block a nominee until Obama “can demonstrate that he has made some progress in alleviating the misery” of the Cuban people, according to the Hill.

Sources: USA Today, The Hill / Photo Credit: U.S. Department of State/Flickr