Nomination of US Ambassador to El Salvador Derailed

On Monday, the Senate rejected President Barrack Obama's nominee for ambassador to El Salvador.  Mari Carmen Aponte’s nomination was derailed primarily by Senate Republicans. Aponte was a recess appointment last year and by most measures seems to have done a fine job representing the interests of the United States in El Salvador. However, there seem to be three main reasons why she failed to win the nomination this week. 

First, Senate Republicans were unhappy with her and the administration's failure to provide them with information about a romantic relationship that she had over a decade ago with a man tied to Cuban intelligence. Some senators wanted more information surrounding the allegations that Cuban intelligence even tried to recruit her. While the FBI twice cleared her of the allegations, that wasn't enough. 

Second, Aponte also published an op-ed in Salvadoran newspapers advocating for the "For the Elimination of Prejudices Wherever They Exist," specifically in regards to the country's gay and lesbian community. Her op-ed was consistent with U.S. foreign policy and with the responsibilities of the Salvadoran government under a variety of international treaties. However, that wasn't enough for Senate Republicans who claim that her statements were un-ambassadorial in a country with such a large Catholic population. 

Finally, and what I think is the strongest reason, her nomination was derailed because that is one of the few ways in which Republican members of Congress can show their disapproval of the president's policies towards Central and South America. Operation Fast and Furious, fraud in the Nicaraguan election, violence in the Northern Triangle and Mexico, Iran’s influence in Latin America, and the Castro brothers’ vitality all played a role in Aponte’s failed nomination.

Senator Rubio, for instance, claims that his vote against Aponte was not against her personally. He used his vote to express his repudiation of the president's policies towards Nicaragua and Cuba. Rubio even said that he was willing to support her nomination had he been convinced that the president was going to take a more supportive stance towards democracy in the region, particularly in Nicaragua and Cuba.

While I might disagree with the Senate on Aponte’s nomination and the administration’s approach to Latin America, they are fully within their rights to reject her nomination because that’s the way they can try to influence the administration’s policies towards the region. Unfortunately, good people like Ambassador Aponte sometimes lose out.