Nationality American | Name Caleb McCarry | |
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Occupation Cuba Transition Coordinator |
Caleb McCarry was the Bush administration's Cuba Transition Coordinator. The position developed out of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. McCarry described the Commission's purpose as to put forth "an intelligent, generous and above all respectful offer of support to the Cuban people" in efforts to end "the dictatorship [that] has willfully and cruelly divided the Cuban family." His mission was described by the Cuban government as "part of a broader U.S. 'plan for Cuba's annexation.'"
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McCarry was previously a professional staff member and subcomiittee staff director for Rep. Henry Hyde and Representative Benjamin A. Gilman who chaired the House International Relations Committee. He is the son of the novelist and former CIA agent Charles McCarry. He speaks Spanish and has a degree in Spanish literature.
Biography
In 1990, McCarry was director of a Guatemalan project of the Center for Democracy, an organization designed to "promote the democratic process in the United States and abroad."
While a congressional staffer, McCarry was known for oversight of U.S. policy during the rule of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In 2004, McCarry participated in the Haiti Democracy Project, whose stated goal is to "Help Haiti Move Forward".
Cuba Transition Coordinator
According to a BBC News Online article of April 11, 2006, "He says his job is to help Cubans "recover their freedom after 47 years of brutal dictatorship".
The creation of a "Cuba Transition Coordinator" post within the United States government was heavily criticized by Cuban government officials. Shortly after McCarry's appointment, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the United Nations that the United States' plans to overthrow the Cuban government are "delusional".
Several prominent Cuban dissidents, including well-known anti-Castro activists Elizardo Sanchez and the late Oswaldo PayĆ”, said McCarry's appointment was counterproductive, as "[i]t will allow the Cuban government to raise the spectre of foreign interference in the internal affairs of our country."