The Listín Diario newspaper reported that the DR is not likely to get a U.S. ambassador this year. The Embassy has been about a year without an ambassador. A Washington Post note indicates that the U.S. Congress is not assigning priority to the 140 nominations of diplomats submitted by the Clinton Administration. The nominations include that of Mari Carmen Aponte, the Puerto Rican lawyer who has been nominated for the Dominican Republic. Charge d’affairs Linda Watt has been temporarily heading the embassy. She recently made news when submitting to the Dominican government the list of 35 Dominicans the U.S. Government would like extradited, as per a new bill passed by Congress and expected to be converted into law by the Presidency within the next two weeks. She also made headlines for the warning that terrorist groups could assault flights between Cuba and the DR. Lacsa of Costa Rica and Cubana de Aviacion fly the route. The US recently allowed the renewal of flights to Cuba from Florida. A United Airlines jet was chartered for the first trip.
