Brody's Notes... Senate GOP Blocks Appointment Of LGBTQ Ally As U. S. Ambassador To El Salvador

Ambassador Mari Aponte via U. S. Embassy San Salvador

By Brody Levesque | WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans Monday blocked efforts to have Mari Carmen Aponte, a Washington D. C. based attorney, who has served as a ‘recess’ appointed temporary ambassador to El Salvador confirmed as the permanent ambassador to that central american nation in a 49-37 vote.

Reaction from the White House was swift with presidential press secretary Jay Carney saying in a prepared statement released Monday evening: “Today’s filibuster is one more example of the type of political posturing and partisanship the American people are tired of seeing in Washington. Whether it’s allowing up or down votes on our representatives to the Western Hemisphere, allowing consumers to have someone looking out for their interests, or extending and expanding the payroll tax cut for the middle class, Republicans in Congress need to stop thinking about the next election and start putting the best interests of the American people first,” Carney said.

Aponte, who has is currently serving as U. S. ambassador in San Salvador since September 2010 after the president, facing GOP opposition to her nomination, made her a recess appointee. Her temporary tenure is slated to expire at the end of this year.

According to a source on Capitol Hill, speaking to LGBTQNation on the condition of remaining anonymous, the principal reason Senate republicans led by tea-party favorite, conservative Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina- blocked Ambassador Aponte's nomination was due to her pro-LGBTQ advocacy, citing an opinion editorial she wrote last June in the Salvadoran newspaper, 'La Prensa Grafica.' She had authored the column- “For the Elimination of Prejudices Wherever They Exist-” in response to a memorandum distributed in May at the direction of U. S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton that urged ambassadors and U. S. foreign service diplomatic personnel to support LGBT pride month.

In her editorial, the ambassador highlighted the fact that both the United States and El Salvador were among more than 80 sovereign states whom had signed a United Nations declaration calling for the elimination of violence against LGBTQ people. Aponte also pointed out that El Salvador President Mauricio Funes had signed a decree the previous year in May 2010 prohibiting discrimination by the Salvadoran government based on sexual orientation.

“No one should be subjected to aggression because of who he is or who he loves. Homophobia and brutal hostility are often based on lack of understanding about what it truly means to be gay or transgender. To avoid negative perceptions, we must work together with education and support for those facing those who promote hatred,” she said.

Statistical data shows that 57 percent of El Salvador’s population is Roman Catholic, and after the ambassador's column was published, a few prominent Salvadoran family and Catholic organisations groups wrote to American lawmakers criticizing Aponte for “abusing her diplomatic status," arguing that Aponte displayed a clear disdain for their "cultural values and identity.”

The Hill source told LGBTQNation that American 'family values' organisations, in particular the Washington based Family Research Council, also played a significant role in lobbying against the ambassador urging lawmakers to oppose her confirmation and suggested she be removed as U. S. Ambassador.

Conservative anger towards her is also based on unfounded rumours that an ex-boyfriend was a Cuban spy, allegations that were cleared by the FBI as untrue.

The Associated Press reported via the Washington Post:

Thirteen years ago, when [President] Clinton nominated Aponte, reports surfaced that a former live-in boyfriend, Roberto Tamayo, had ties to Cuban intelligence in Fidel Castro’s regime and that Cuban intelligence agents had tried to recruit her. The head of the Foreign Relations Committee at the time, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., signaled he would question Aponte about the allegations at her confirmation hearing; she withdrew her nomination.

In the end, the FBI cleared her. On two occasions, Aponte has received top-secret security clearances.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said a review of her file showed “nothing to corroborate the vicious allegations on her past.” The Cuban-American senator argued that if there were anything in her past that showed ties to Fidel Castro’s former regime, he would oppose her nomination.

In a piece he penned last month in the publication Human Events, Senator DeMint argued

“Our relationship with the Salvadoran people has been one of trust and friendship for decades,” DeMint said. “We should not risk that by appointing an ambassador who shows such a blatant disregard for their culture and refuses to clear unsettled doubts about her previous relationships. It’s time to bring Ms. Aponte home.”

Senate majority leader, Nevada Democratic Senator Harry Reid issued the following statement last night and also left open the possibility of revisiting the ambassador's confirmation proceedings:

“Senate Republicans once again put politics above policy by blocking the confirmation of a dedicated public servant. In the fifteen months Mari Carmen Aponte has served as our ambassador to El Salvador, she finalized an important international, anti-crime agreement and forged a strong partnership between our nations. The Puerto Rican community and all Americans are right to be proud of Ms. Aponte’s accomplishments as a diplomat representing our nation, as I am.
I am disappointed Republicans continued a long-running trend of obstructing qualified nominees just to score political points. Unfortunately, defeating President Obama is more important to Senate Republicans than confirming qualified nominees to represent our country in Latin America.”