Row erupts at OAS as Caribbean envoys accuse US of seeking control
Secretary General Albert Ramdin, the first Caribbean national in the post, rejects corruption claims as the US ambassador seeks an office at headquarters and access to private meetings.
WASHINGTON, United States. A major row has erupted at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, with officials accusing the Trump administration of trying to take day-to-day control of the hemispheric body through demands that include the right to attend private executive meetings and a permanent office for its ambassador.
The feud comes days before the organisation’s general assembly in Panama, which begins on Monday, and is expected to dominate the three days of sessions.
Allegations against Ramdin
At the heart of the dispute are allegations of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement against Secretary General Albert Ramdin. Mr Ramdin, 68, who was born in Suriname and elected a year ago as the first person from the Caribbean to hold the post, insists there is a concerted effort to undermine or remove him because he has resisted pressure for daily control of the 35-nation body from the administration through its ambassador, Leandro Rizzuto Jr.
Caribbean ambassadors have accused Mr Rizzuto of trying to bully his way into the organisation’s daily operations. They argue that if his requests are granted, other member states could make similar demands, disrupting operations and departing from precedent.
Chief of staff’s visa revoked
In a further twist, the State Department has revoked the visa of Mr Ramdin’s chief of staff, Xaviera Jessurun, and ordered her to leave Washington. The move is allegedly linked to a probe in Suriname into alleged financial mismanagement at state-run Surinam Airways.
In a statement on Thursday, the OAS noted that its charter bars the executive from taking instructions “from any government or from any authority outside the organization.”
There are fears that the US, which pays up to half of the annual budget, is trying to exert its influence over the organisation.
Ramdin open to inquiry
Mr Ramdin said he would welcome talks “to discuss the terms of a formal, independent investigation, if the member states so desire.” He dismissed allegations of corruption and lavish spending, saying internal audits had found nothing.
“No such irregularities have been found in the first year of the secretary general’s tenure, and until the inspector general issues audit findings, any claim regarding financial governance is unsubstantiated and politically speculative,” he said.
