Trump nominates key adviser for Latin America to head regional bank
The Trump administration announced Tuesday the nomination of Mauricio Claver-Carone, the senior director for Latin America at the National Security Council, to be the next president of the Inter-American Development Bank.
With the backing of the United States, Claver-Carone is in line to become the first American president of the organization. In its six-decade history, the bank has had only four presidents, all from Latin America.
“The nomination of Mr. Claver-Carone demonstrates President Trump’s strong commitment to U.S. leadership in important regional institutions, and to advancing prosperity and security in the Western Hemisphere,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.
In a phone call with the Miami Herald, Claver-Carone, who also serves as a deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said his “number one goal” as head of the IDB would be to ensure “that the region recovers from the crisis caused by the pandemic.”
He also mentioned plans to modernize the organization and establish five-year terms for the presidency. He added that the election of a U.S. representative to preside over the bank would allow it to better mobilize the capital and tools that the region needs to grow.
“We will commit to a one-term, five-year presidency, and we hope to institutionalize one or two terms maximum to lead by example,” Claver-Carone said.
Claver-Carone, one of the architects of the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and the tightening of the embargo against Cuba, said he was sure that the IDB would play an important role in the future reconstruction of Venezuela.
“We are sure that there will be a democratic transition in Venezuela,” said Claver-Carone, who is Cuban American. “The region has a Venezuela and a Cuba, but an overwhelming majority of countries are democratic. The way to avoid repeating what has happened in Venezuela is to make sure that there is economic growth.”
The president of the IDB, one of the primary multilateral sources of financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, is elected by its country members. Claver-Carone said he was “confident” that the United States has built “a winning coalition” to secure the votes necessary for him to take the position.
Shortly after the announcement, Ecuador’s foreign ministry issued a statement backing Claver-Carone’s nomination, praising “his leadership, capacity for dialogue and empathy on the needs of the region.”
Before being appointed in 2018 to direct U.S. policy toward Latin America at the White House, Claver-Carone served as the U.S. representative to the International Monetary Fund and as an adviser to the Treasury Department.
Claver-Carone was also an influential lobbyist and activist with strong roots in the Cuban-American community.
“I have no doubt that Mauricio will faithfully continue his work to promote U.S. policies and initiatives that advance economic prosperity, stability, and democratic order in our Hemisphere,” said Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
Claver-Carone will remain in the White House until the end of September.
Follow Nora Gámez Torres on Twitter: @ngameztorres
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 7:08 PM.