Trump's Colombia Envoy Should Know Something about Drug Wars

David Shedd

Security, Americas

President Trump's nominee, Joseph Macmanus, is not the man for the job.

Latin America has stood out as an area of foreign-policy interest for Donald Trump since the early days of the 2016 campaign. And so far, with the presidency in hand, the Trump administration has made headway on many of its campaign promises regarding the region—from addressing the crisis in Venezuela to improving President Obama’s flawed Cuba policy.

Even with the U.S.-Mexico relationship in need of serious course correction, the president has advanced regional policy in meaningful ways.

Another Latin American country that should rank high on the administration’s agenda is Colombia. That nation has suffered terribly from drug traffickers, intense street crime and a brutal terrorist organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

And those problems have a nasty habit of spilling over into the United States. FARC remains a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Colombia has routinely been a leading source in the world for cocaine, and the source for nearly all of the cocaine seized in the United States.

Washington needs a strong ambassador with a deep understanding of Colombia’s threats and opportunities, a demonstrated commitment to the president’s foreign policy vision and the confidence of the White House. Joseph Macmanus has been nominated to the post, but he is not the man for that job.

Since 2003, Macmanus has served at the U.S. State Department in various senior capacities in the Legislative Affairs bureau, as executive assistant to the Secretary of State and as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Vienna and to the International Atomic Energy Agency. From 1986–2003, he served at the U.S. Information Agency in public diplomacy roles, and was posted to Mexico, El Salvador, Poland and Belgium.

Over the last two decades, all U.S. ambassadors to Colombia had considerable experience working on regional narcotics and security challenges. While Macmanus’s career as a U.S. foreign service officer is commendable, his lack of relevant and recent involvement in Western Hemisphere affairs will significantly undermine his effectiveness.

The diplomatic mission in Bogota is one of Latin America’s most complicated. Colombia has routinely been a leading source in the world for cocaine. And despite the recent peace agreement with the government, FARC fighters still control parts of the country.