The Dominican government has not received any evidence to justify the migratory alert issued by the United States Department of State in November 2023, Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez points out in a letter to his colleague US Secretary of State Antony Blinken dated Tuesday, 4 April 2023, as reported in Diario Libre. The letter was sent after statements made by the US Secretary of State when questioned in Congress on the travel alert.
Alvarez said that the Dominican government has not received “neither before nor after” evidence to justify the migration alert issued by the US State Department last November 2022.
In the letter dated 4 April 2023, Foreign Minister Alvarez refers to Blinken’s appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on 23 March 2023, in which he was questioned by the Republican representative for Florida, Maria Elvira Salazar, for “the imprudent migratory alert imposed on the Dominican Republic”.
Alvarez notes: “The fact that the alert was issued so lightly, without taking into account the damage caused and its consequent effect on the relations between our countries, does not cease to amaze and worry us. According to information provided by the Ministry of Tourism, between 19 November 2022 (the date the alert was issued), and 31 December 2022 (42 days), the estimated number of effective travel cancellations received was 34,104, the bulk of which can be attributed to the alert,” the letter states.
The office of New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat confirmed that the representative received a copy of the letter and stated that “we are confident that in the coming days there will be a change in the status of the alert.”
Diario Libre reports that the US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will visit on Wednesday, 12 April 2023. The newspaper said that the US official has asked that a panel be called for a talk that would be held at the Presidential Palace to discuss topics of common interest.
In Wikipedia, Sherman is described as a social worker, who has served as the director of EMILY’s list, the director of Maryland’s office of child welfare, and the founding president of the Fannie Mae Foundation.
During the Clinton administration, she served as Counselor of the United States Department of State from 1997 to 2001. She was also a Special Advisor to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and North Korea Policy Coordinator. In the latter role, she was instrumental in negotiations related to North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs.
Sherman served under Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2011 to 2015. She was the fourth-ranking official in the US Department of State. In that role, Sherman was the lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal. After winning the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden nominated Sherman to serve as United States Deputy Secretary of State, under Antony Blinken.
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US State Department
10 April 2023