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The U.S. Ambassador to Peru, Bernie Navarro, a Cuban-American son of exiles, posted a message this Sunday on his X account in which he evoked the figure of José Martí while serving as an international observer in the Peruvian presidential runoff.
Navarro shared a photograph alongside a bust of the Cuban hero with the inscription "Be educated to be free." He was wearing a black vest, a white shirt, and a cap with the text "INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER," and he carried a credential from the U.S. Embassy in Lima.
"While visiting polling places as international observers, I came across the bust of the great Cuban hero José Martí. Ours is a continent that fought for its independence and its right to choose. This was a poignant encounter on a day like today when Peru exercises its sacred right to vote," wrote the diplomat.
The publication was made in the context of the second round of the presidential election in Peru, which pits the right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular) against the leftist Roberto Sánchez (Juntos por el Perú), with over 27 million citizens called to the polls to choose the president who will govern the country until 2031.
Peru arrives at this electoral event after a decade of deep instability: eight presidents in ten years and a citizenry that is distrustful of its institutions. Fujimori, daughter of the former president Alberto Fujimori, who passed away in September 2024, is seeking the presidency for the fourth consecutive time. Sánchez, a psychologist and former minister, has the support of imprisoned former president Pedro Castillo and arrived to vote wearing the hat he received from him as a symbol of his candidacy.
Navarro was appointed by Donald Trump in May 2025 as ambassador to Peru, confirmed by the Senate on December 19 of that year and sworn in on January 13, 2026, by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his childhood friend.
His appointment is part of a deliberate strategy by the Trump administration to place Cuban Americans in key diplomatic positions in Latin America, alongside figures such as Kevin Marino Cabrera in Panama, Peter Lamelas in Argentina, and Benjamín León Jr. in Spain.
In an interview given in May 2026, Navarro was direct about his political vision: "I bring the conviction of what we think about communism, and we see that a lot in Peru. We see that there is significant influence from Cuba in Peru."
The reference to Martí is part of a broader trend in U.S. diplomacy to uphold the Cuban hero as a symbol of freedom against the Havana regime. Last May 20th, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba embraced José Martí as a symbol of freedom on the occasion of the 131st anniversary of his death, under the #Freedom250 campaign.
Navarro has also been emphatic about Trump's role in the future of Cuba: "I believe that yes, with Donald Trump, change in Cuba will indeed happen; I think the signal is there, and I believe we are discussing this topic like never before."
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