Photo: Metroworldnews.com
By Hernando Calvo Ospina / CUBA DEBATE
With the exception of John Adams and his son, John Quincy, the first 12 presidents of the United States, some of them known as the "Founding Fathers," not only owned hundreds of slaves but also implemented measures to dispossess Native Americans of their lands and imprison them in concentration camps, which were called reservations.
George Washington, the foremost Founding Father, whom history has immaculately preserved, was accompanied by some of his slaves when he was sworn in as the first president on the balcony of Federal Hall, located on Wall Street, New York, on April 30, 1789. It is very important to remember that this eight-block street had been inaugurated on December 13, 1711, as the first stock exchange in the United States, but for the auction of slaves.
And although it may seem hard to believe, on the same street, just steps from where Black and some Native American rebels were negotiating, Washington also approved the Bill of Rights, with the first ten amendments to the Constitution, on December 15, 1791. This amendment became a symbol of freedom and equality in that nation, although Native Americans were not considered citizens, and women's rights were severely restricted until 1920.
Thomas Jefferson, another Founding Father, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, one of the most pro-slavery and fervent promoter of Native American reservations, was appointed by Washington as that nation's first Secretary of State from 1790 to 1793. He had previously served on diplomatic duties in France from 1785 to 1789.
Well, those two white supremacists, slaveholders, racists, and women-despisers were the architects of American diplomacy.
It is "normal," then, the contempt that presidents and their secretaries of state have shown since then for the vast majority of the world's people, where human beings are mere commodities or obstacles to be eliminated in the development of their imperial greed.
Since then, secretaries of state have had to go around the world reporting on crimes, massacres, and genocides, committed and yet to be committed, while lobbying for support. The arrogance that power gives them has led many to be base and arrogant in their defense of the indefensible. Others have been able to explain these rivers of blood: They invade and kill for the good of the victims and for "democratic values." And they leave a good portion of humanity convinced of their nation's good intentions.
Of this last group, international politics experts mention the contemporaries: John Foster Dulles, under Eisenhower (1953-1959); Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State (1997-2001), under Clinton; Colin Powell, the first African-American Secretary of State (2001-2005), under Bush; Hillary Clinton (2009-2013), under Obama; and Antony Blinken (2021-2025), under Biden. One deserves special mention: Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford (1973-1977). Despite having participated as the mastermind of so many crimes against humanity, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is perhaps the most intelligent, manipulative, and Machiavellian Secretary of State that the country has ever had.
There are also the worst Secretaries of State in the history of the United States. They earned this public "recognition" because they lacked the essentials for the position: experienced leadership in foreign policy, negotiating skills, knowledge of international organizations, and a strategic vision to advise the president and represent the country abroad.
These would be: Warren Christopher (1993-1997) under Clinton. Considered an uncharismatic bureaucrat and poor at resolving international crises. Rex Tillerson (2017-2018), despite having been president of the oil company ExxonMobil, was a terrible diplomat and didn't even know how to handle the internal management of the Department. Some claimed he was a complete "idiot." Mike Pompeo (2018-2021) under Trump. Although he had previously headed the CIA, experts' assessments are mostly negative. The New York Times named him the worst of the worst in US history.
It is striking that both Secretaries of State during Trump's first administration are on that list of the worst. There was an "interim" Secretary of State, John Sullivan, who lasted 25 days, but no one remembers him.
One of the international organizations the Secretary of State must oversee is the Organization of American States (OAS). Its headquarters are in Washington, by decision of the United States. Founded in Bogotá on April 30, 1948, when Colombia was beginning to plunge into what would become known as the "age of violence," which has lasted until today. It was created in the context of the postwar period and the beginning of the Cold War. For the United States, it was imperative to have the countries of the continent under its control, anticipating that the Soviet Union and its "communism" would arrive to disrupt its power. The Organization's Charter was signed in the Colombian capital. It was drafted in Washington but presented by the Colombian delegation, becoming the ideological basis of the Cold War. Its first Secretary General was Alberto Lleras Camargo, a Colombian who enjoyed the absolute trust of the United States and who held the position until 1954, shaping the OAS according to his master's interests.
Perhaps the most symbolic act that demonstrated the purpose of the OAS occurred on January 31, 1962, during a ministerial conference in Punta del Este, Uruguay: Cuba was expelled. It was argued that the revolutionary island had aligned itself with the Soviet Union and communism, which was "incompatible" with the inter-American system. Afterward, Commander Fidel Castro used a phrase that exposed it: it was the "US Ministry of Colonies."
The OAS has served as a way for Washington to do its bidding. It has been useful in legalizing actions that threaten the sovereignty of its other members. It has never served to prevent so many coups d'état orchestrated by Washington against democratically elected governments. And when some governments have rejected Washington's decisions, they have rarely received any attention. One of its objectives has been to defend the continent from foreign aggression, but when Argentina sought to recover the Falklands and England sent its troops, the United States, Colombia, and the Pinochet dictatorship turned their backs on it.
Its secretary general must be elected by vote, but must have Washington's blessing. The second-to-last of these, Luis Almagro, a Uruguayan, is considered the worst of all: not only did he sow division and discord among its members, but he has also been the most sympathetic to US interests. He had previously served as Foreign Minister under President José Mujica when he was elected in 2015 and reelected in 2000. Ebrard Casaubón, who was responsible for Mexico's Foreign Relations, said of Almagro's administration: "It is one of the worst in history (...) He has taken very dubious actions, like the case of Bolivia, which practically facilitated a coup" against Evo Morales.
Governments that did not follow Washington's agenda became Almagro's enemies, with Venezuela and Nicaragua being his main war fronts. And they remained so even after both nations withdrew from the Organization. The same has happened with Cuba, 63 years after its expulsion. When the severe economic and humanitarian crisis hit Venezuela, primarily between 2015 and 2021, due to the economic blockade imposed by the US and its European allies, Almagro openly called for an invasion of the Bolivarian country to impose a government "not hostile" to Washington.
And for his campaigns against the revolutionary and progressive governments, Almagro relied on people who echoed his message, who, as we know, were the voice of the State Department. One of them, as part of the "Almagro school," was Rosa María Payá, of Cuban origin.
She is the daughter of the "dissident" Oswaldo Payá, who died when the vehicle he was traveling in crashed into a tree on July 22, 2012. Despite the fact that the Spanish citizen accompanying him claimed it was due to excessive speed, Rosa María began to repeat everywhere that the Cuban government had caused the incident. It never bothered her that the Spanish National Court also ruled on the accident.
She soon learned that to soften an audience, she always had to start by mentioning her father's death, with a contrite voice and face. She also repeated, almost anguished, that she was being persecuted by the "Castro dictatorship," which is why she could not return to Cuba. She concealed the numerous occasions she traveled to the island unmolested, even though she had legal residency. By inciting pity, she became an important part of US smear campaigns.
Thus, under the shadow of Almagro and other far-right politicians from South Florida, such as Senator Marco Rubio, she has also directed her barbs at progressive governments such as those of Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula, Mexico's Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and Colombia's Gustavo Petro. She even criticized Chile's Gabriel Boric, who has had little progressive intent.
However, she has consistently and systematically attacked the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua: if you listen to her, there's no need to look up what the State Department says about them.
Working on projects that Washington needed, Almagro and Payá became one and the same, and it has even been said that their relationship went beyond political and ideological interests. The former head of the OAS helped her secure funding of up to two million dollars a year, while opening doors for her at global institutions. With the dollars provided by USAID, the National Electoral Institute (NED), the OAS, and other Washington-aligned organizations for her alleged human rights work, Rosa María Payá has managed to acquire considerable personal capital, including luxurious properties in the United States.
On May 30, Surinamese Albert Ramdin took office as the new Secretary General of the OAS. Just when it was thought that the Organization would take on a new dynamic, on June 27, Rosa María Payá was elected a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during the 55th OAS General Assembly, held in Antigua and Barbuda, for the 2026-2029 term. Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile were among those opposed to her nomination, but where the captain rules, the sailor doesn't, it is said: she was the United States's candidate, officially presented days before by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also of Cuban origin.
“The United States,” Rubio said in a statement, “urges other OAS member states to support Rosa María Payá’s candidacy and help ensure that the IACHR remains a strong, upright, and credible defender of human rights for all.” In the statement, he described Payá as “a principled, courageous, and deeply committed defender of human rights and democracy,” capable of serving the region “with independence, integrity, and a firm commitment to justice.”
Without Rubio’s signature, the State Department added that Payá is “an internationally renowned defender of democracy, human rights leader, and Latin American policy expert… recognized for her work promoting freedom, human rights, and democratic governance throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
To respond to such a eulogy, it is only necessary to understand a little about Payá's "career" and compare it with the resolution issued by the OAS General Assembly in Lima in 2022. It established parameters that member states should follow in their nomination and evaluation processes for candidates for OAS bodies: always observing "compliance with the requirements of independence, impartiality, high moral authority, and recognized competence in human rights," in addition to having knowledge and experience in issues relevant to the inter-American human rights system.
In Ms. Payá's case, she should begin educating herself immediately so as not to make a fool of herself; so that it is not too obvious that she was imposed, not elected at the will of the members.
She has a degree in Physics from the University of Havana; she was trained in "leadership" programs at Georgetown University. These "programs" are scholarships that the US regime offers to young people from countries with governments considered opposed to its interests.
Rosa María Payá is the founder and almost sole member of Cuba Decide, which, according to the State Department, leads "the most prominent pro-democracy movement" on the island. Supported by Almagro and the Florida far right, she was appointed executive director of the shadowy Foundation for Pan-American Democracy to promote "regional security, human rights, and democratic stability."
In Washington, it is known that they could award a prize to anyone in Cuba who knows about Payá's activities, as these are people and organizations used to carry out international work that undermines the image of the revolution and the governments that are needed.
After learning of the nomination, Payá expressed her "deep honor" and thanked the Secretary of State for his support. On social media, she promised to "serve all the peoples of the Americas." "My priorities are clear: protect those who need it most, defend democracy, guarantee an effective and transparent commission, and bring the system closer to the most vulnerable."
Ah, but she couldn't contain herself and lashed out at the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio considers “enemies of humanity.” Payá stated: “The Americas have paid a very high price for tolerating the Cuban regime for so long.” “It is up to us, the women and men of the Americas, to once and for all put an end to the head of the authoritarian octopus and all its tentacles, which have caused so much pain to our nations.”
But... Marco Rubio had to insist on Friday morning, before the election, as he still doubted his candidate would be chosen: "Rosa María brings the dignity and determination necessary to address the Commission's greatest challenges with innovative solutions."
Therefore, on Thursday, during the Assembly, Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau had to speak out loud and clearly, demanding, through threats and blackmail, that Payá be voted in. The key point was to warn about the Trump administration's weariness with the OAS, which had failed to bring down the Bolivarian government of Venezuela. And this cast doubt on the future permanence of the United States in it.
If they had had any dignity, they would have applauded this possibility, since, furthermore, there already exists an organization that neither the United States nor Canada are members of: the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), created in 2010, bringing together 33 nations and more than 600 million inhabitants.
Landau said: “As you may know, President (Donald) Trump issued an executive order in the first days of this Administration instructing Secretary of State (Marco Rubio) that, within six months, he will review all international organizations of which the United States is a member to determine whether such membership is in the interests of the United States and whether those organizations can be reformed (…) and obviously the OAS is one of the organizations we are reviewing.”
And he concluded by recalling that the United States supported Payá's nomination and could not be left out when the Trump administration believes the OAS is doing nothing substantive against dictatorships in Latin America, which are, as we know, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua…
We'll see what happens with the new Secretary General, Albert Ramdin, who, as Suriname's Foreign Minister, refused to characterize President Nicolás Maduro's government as a dictatorship. Rubio has already questioned him.
Secretaries of State have always used blackmail and threats to achieve their goals, but having to do it the way Marco Rubio did to get his job elected demonstrated the little respect and trust he inspires in Latin America and the Caribbean. Not to mention how little he means in the rest of the world. Trump was right when he called him "Little Marco." Perhaps in the near future, he'll be considered the fourth worst Secretary of State in the diplomatic history of that regime. And the third worst of the Trump regime. That would be a world record!
