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The appointment of the deputy director general of the United States at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), Johana Tablada, during a ceremony this Friday led by the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel and the foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez, reflects the use of the foreign service as a reward for political loyalty.
During the event, Díaz-Canel announced the commendation for workers of the Minrex, praising their “love and dedication to the homeland,” as he published on the social network X.
In the same ceremony, she swore in Tablada as ambassador, without specifying the country where she will assume her duties.
Rodríguez also celebrated the ceremony on the social network itself and sent a "warm hug" to the official.
In his message, he once again praised the so-called "revolutionary diplomacy," a label used by the regime to mask the political subordination of its diplomatic corps.
Tablada herself expressed on her Facebook account that she feels “honored and excited” by her appointment as ambassador and second in command of the mission, alongside Eugenio Martínez (ambassador and head of mission), although she avoided publicly disclosing the destination of her new responsibility.
When a user, apparently a close acquaintance, asked her on her profile what the mission was about, the official responded that she would disclose it in private because "it is not public yet."
In the comments, his brother, the architect Abel Tablada de la Torre, wished him success in the new mission "in that always beloved neighboring country," which adds to the secrecy surrounding the position.
In the same ceremony, other diplomats were honored, such as Carlos Zamora, Luis Mariano Fernández, and Hilda Realin, in addition to Joel Concepción, for their actions in the contexts of Syria and Haiti.
The appointment of Tablada confirms the continuity in the regime's foreign policy, which is more focused on reinforcing ideological obedience than on making diplomatic efforts transparent at a time of increasing international isolation.
Tablada has been one of the regime's spokespersons who has most emphatically criticized the Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Havana, Mike Hammer, accusing him of lying, promoting internal destabilization, and violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
In his opinion, Hammer has "consciously" lied about the country's situation and indicated that his statements in Miami—where he claimed that "the revolution has failed" and that Cubans hold the regime responsible for the crisis—are part of a destabilization strategy.
In June, the official attacked the U.S. diplomat due to his visit to San Antonio de los Baños, a locality that became a symbol of the protests on July 11, 2021 (11J).
However, in the same month, Tablada traveled to Washington D.C. to do exactly what she criticizes Mike Hammer for in Cuba: to meet with individuals and groups from civil society.
The current deputy director for the United States at Minrex
He also praised Díaz-Canel's reaction, who distanced himself from the scandal and stated that “poverty cannot be criminalized.”
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