The United States of America nominates Jean Elisabeth Manes as Ambassador to Colombia – United States – International

President Joe Biden was nominated on Tuesday Jean Elizabeth Manns As America’s new ambassador to Colombia.

Maness, a career ambassador, must now go through the confirmation process before the Senate, which must give its approval through legislation to all ambassadors proposed by the administration.

(In the background: What do you know about who will be the new US ambassador to Colombia?)

His next step will be before the Foreign Relations Committee and then before the full House of Commons.

The speed of the process depends on the legislative agenda in Congress and the number of officials still “in line” to receive confirmation from the Senate.

(See also: Why doesn’t the US still have an ambassador in Colombia?)

Analysts predicted, At minimum, it takes about three months before you get the green light to travel to the country.

That is, as long as there is no interruption in your confirmation process. Given the way the Senate works, a legislator can block or block his nomination.

Born in Florida, Maness currently serves as Deputy Civilian Foreign Policy Advisor for the Southern Command.. Prior to that, he was posted as ambassador to El Salvador between 2016 and 2019.

In 2021, Manez was sent back to El Salvador as chargé d’affaires by Biden, but his performance in his last term in San Salvador ended up being highly controversial. Since his arrival in the country, Nayeb has been involved in a bitter public dispute with Bukhele’s government.

Although relations were already strained, the US openly questioned the Salvadoran president’s anti-democratic decisions. Messenger took it to a new level with permanent and very important exchanges through social networks.

In November of that year, six months after his arrival, he resigned after indicating that the El Salvadoran government was not interested in relations with the United States.

Manes’ name has been bandied about as Washington’s potential ambassador to Bogotá since early last year.

However, the process “froze” after I High officials and former State Department officials opposed his appointment because they felt it was not a good fit for Colombia.

First, because of the bellicose spirit he displayed in El Salvador, and second, because of his relationship with the hard-line faction of the Republican Party.

Although Manes was a civil servant, both his high school and university studies were done in centers closely associated with this party and the country’s evangelical movement.

Liberty University, for example, where he studied international relations, is considered the cradle of this religious movement. And to the right of the Republican Party is the core of demographics. It was a profile that disturbed many; In particular, left-wing leader Gustavo Pedro was expected to become Colombia’s new president.

In its statement, however, the White House highlighted Manes’ virtues and his career in foreign policy.

“He served nationally at the U.S. Department of State as principal deputy coordinator for the Office of International Information Programs and as director of resources for public diplomacy and public affairs for the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. His foreign assignments included public affairs officer in Afghanistan; principal in the Azores, Portugal; in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Syria. works,” the text reads.

It also underlines that Manes received an ‘Outstanding Presidential Rank Award’ and five recognitions for his work abroad; He was also named Ambassador of the Year on one occasion and received the Roth Award for Cultural and Educational Diplomacy.

Additionally, Holds a Masters in Public Administration from an American University and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

“On behalf of the Government of Colombia, we welcome President Biden’s nomination of Jean Manez as the next US Ambassador to Colombia. Given the importance of our bilateral relationship, we look forward to the process that will follow in the Senate to fill this important position and further strengthen relations between Colombia and the United States,” said Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo upon learning of his appointment. said.

Manes will replace Philip Goldberg in the positionHe was nominated as the new ambassador to South Korea in February last year.

Goldberg left the country on June 1, and since then the US has not had an ambassador in Colombia, an unprecedented move in relations between the two countries.

Sergio Gomez Maseri
EL TIEMPO reporter
Washington
On Twitter @sergom68