The diplomat, with more than three decades of career, has been in several countries in Latin America and Africa
14ymedio, Havana, November 16, 2024 — Mike Hammer, with 35 years of diplomatic career in countries such as Chile and Congo, is the new head of the US diplomatic mission in Havana. The announcement this Friday indicated that Hammer, in addition to having experience in the State Department and the White House, “speaks fluent Spanish” – in addition to French and Icelandic – and ” grew up” in Latin America.
Hammer, 60, replaces Benjamin Ziff as Chargé d’Affaires – Havana does not have an ambassador – who held the position for two years and left the Island last month. The new head of mission has lived in Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela – countries with a complex situation and relevant to the geopolitical board on which the regime moves.
In addition, he was US special envoy to the Horn of Africa and spokesman for the National Security Council from 2009 to 2011. He held different positions in Norway, Iceland and Denmark, and will travel to Havana with his wife, Margret Bjorgulfsdottir, and their three children.
Born in 1963, Hammer studied Foreign Service at Georgetown University and has master’s degrees in Law and Diplomacy from several American institutions. He was special assistant to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Marc Grossman, whom he advised as head of Latin American affairs.
President Barack Obama appointed him ambassador to Chile in 2013.
President Barack Obama appointed him ambassador to Chile in 2013, and several years later, in 2018, Donald Trump – during his first term – sent him to Congo. Hammer has been actively involved in conflict resolution in Africa. An example of this was his mediation, in 2022, between Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – a nationalist leftist paramilitary group – to end the Tigray War.
In early 2023, he was involved in the Sudan conflict and held several meetings with diplomats from Kenya, Ethiopia and the African Union
Hammer arrives in Cuba at a time of maximum tension in Havana, with the imminent return of Trump to the White House and a Cabinet in which old enemies of the regime stand out, such as Senator Marco Rubio, who will serve as Secretary of State. In addition, his arrival occurs in the midst of a systemic crisis in the country, after the passage of two hurricanes, episodes of total blackout and unprecedented shortages.
The new Chargé d’Affaires will also have to continue with the agenda of his predecessor to improve diplomatic facilities, enable immigration procedures, support the private sector of the Island and – as Ziff said in his farewell statement – support the search for a “freer and more democratic future” for Cuba.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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