For the first time in its 77-year-history, the Organization of American States, or OAS, will be led by someone from the Caribbean community.
Albert Ramdin, the foreign minister of Suriname, was elected OAS secretary general on Monday.
He’ll replace Luis Almagro of Uruguay when Almagro’s five-year term expires in May.
Ramdin will take over the Washington-based OAS, which is considered the U.N. of the Americas, at a difficult moment. The organization’s leverage in Western hemisphere affairs is in doubt, especially when it comes to mediating disputes involving leftist dictatorships in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
READ MORE: As USAID exits Latin America, will more people exit for the U.S. border — and will China move in?
This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.
