Florida Sen. George LeMieux has dropped his opposition to the incoming US ambassador to Brazil, saying he got commitments from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on some areas of concern — including Honduras and Cuba.
For example, LeMieux says that in Honduras, the U.S. "will continue to normalize relations with that country's government and President-elect Lobo."
The State Department was more circumspect: "As we have discussed, as we see progress by President-elect Lobo and the Honduran people in implementing the principles of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accords, the United States will take steps to normalize relations with Honduras," wrote Arturo Valenzuela, the assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
The effort earned lavish plaudits from Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, who wrote that by blocking Shannon's appointment, "Senator LeMieux demonstrated a sophisticated knowledge of Senate rules and procedures, and utilized that knowledge to serve Florida, to deepen our relations with our hemisphere’s democracies, and to protect the national security of the United States. Senator LeMieux has already become a force to be reckoned with in Western Hemispheric affairs"
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