One year ago, Marco Rubio and seven other senators penned a letter to then-President Joe Biden expressing concerns over Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s misuse of sanctions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Since January 2021, the overwhelming majority of public designations made under Section 7031(c) have targeted officials in Latin American and Caribbean governments that have cooperated with the United States on strategic diplomatic and national security interests,” the senators pressed.
The senators expressed deep concerns about politicizing the sanction process and seemingly targeting politicians on the Right and ignoring “egregious actions in the region by others.”
They urged Biden that the administration “must immediately explain the process and criteria it has used since January 2021 to designate individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean under Section 7031(c).”
This may seem like an American, right-wing, or human rights concern. Still, as stated in the letter from the Republican senators, it is not just a U.S. problem and especially not just a concern of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Among the eight, Rubio is acting as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state. By expressing concerns over U.S. allies’ designations and demanding the Democratic administration review and reverse them, Rubio has set a clear precedent. He must now uphold it.
Enter Sali Berisha, a former president and prime minister of Albania who visited the White House twice in the early ’90s and was received by Republican George H.W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton. In 2007, Berisha welcomed the first and only U.S. president to visit Albania, George W. Bush. Berisha was and is a staunch ally of the United States, aligning with American interests on everything from the Middle East to Russia, from NATO expansion to the war on terrorism.
Berisha’s fall from grace came in May 2021 when Blinken designated him for “undermining democracy” and “significant corruption.” Ironically, Blinken himself, while a senior adviser to Vice President Biden, lauded Berisha and his government’s anti-corruption efforts.
Other U.S. Democrats once felt similarly. In 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech in Albania’s parliament, when Berisha was prime minister, stating that “if one wants to see democracy in motion, one should come to Albania.”
Berisha blames billionaire George Soros and his cronies in the U.S. for his designation. Case in point, George’s son Alex Soros has been a mainstay in Albanian and Balkan politics since Prime Minister Edi Rama came to power. Former chief of the FBI’s New York counterintelligence office Charles McGonigal’s involvement in Albanian affairs should not be brushed aside. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison by a Washington, D.C., court for this involvement, accepting bribes from Albanian individuals set in motion by Rama’s office, according to the Justice Department file, and pushing the FBI to open an investigation into Berisha’s right-wing Democratic Party.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Now that Rubio is in charge and Blinken is out, will Rubio reverse Blinken’s policies and condemnations of right-wing U.S. allies, not only in Latin America and the Caribbean but also in southeastern Europe? Many in Albania think Rubio will do so.
Some point to an interesting reason: Being a descendant of anti-communist Cuban immigrants, he knows what communism is. Albania and his grandparents’ country have one thing in common: having suffered dearly under the communist joke. Berisha’s designation is nothing less than a new international Left trying to expunge its right-wing rivals.
Alfred Lela is a U.S. citizen and director of press and communication for Albania’s right-wing Democratic Party.