Trump envoy pick was fired as bank president for alleged 'intimate relationship with staffer'

23 December 2024

If Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, is confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2025, one of the people who might be reporting to him is Mauricio Claver-Carone.

Trump has nominated the Miami-born Claver-Carone as special envoy to Latin America at the U.S. State Department.

Rubio is likely to enjoy a bipartisan confirmation, as he isn't among the more controversial picks for Trump's incoming administration. But Claver-Carone, according to International Business Times reporter Pedro Camacho, isn't without controversy.

Previously, Claver-Carone served as president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) — a position he held from 2020-2022. According to Camacho, his role as IDB president "came to an abrupt end" when "an independent investigation, catalyzed by an anonymous whistleblower, found he had an intimate relationship with a staffer."

Camacho, in an article published on December 23, explains, "The report also found that Claver-Carone had misused bank funds and policies, though evidence of intentional misconduct on travel expenses and internal card policies remained inconclusive. Both Claver-Carone and the woman, referred to throughout the process as J.B., refused to cooperate fully with the investigation, declining to provide relevant documents or participate in interviews."

Claver-Carone, Camacho notes, "has consistently denied the allegations, criticizing the investigative process and labeling it as lacking transparency."

On his Truth Social platform, Trump announced the Claver-Carone nomination on December 22.

The president-elect posted, "I am pleased to announce Mauricio Claver-Carone as the State Department's Special Envoy for Latin America. Mauricio has served in many important roles, including the White House, as my Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Over the last four years, chaos and anarchy have engulfed our Borders."

Trump added, "It is time to restore order in our own hemisphere. Mauricio knows the region, and how to put America's interests FIRST. He also knows the dire threats we face from illegal mass migration and fentanyl. As the State Department's Special Envoy, Mauricio will work tirelessly to protect the American People."

Camacho notes that Claver-Carone is "known to have close ties with" Rubio.

"Prior to the controversies that ultimately led to his firing at the IDB," Camacho reports, "Claver-Carone was known for his hardline stance against Cuba and Venezuela and his advocacy for curbing Chinese influence in Latin America, as Infobae points out. He proposed measures to penalize countries in the region using Chinese-owned infrastructure for trade — a policy he argued would bolster U.S. strategic interests."

Read the full International Business Times article at this link.

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