Trump advisor nominated to lead Inter-American bank

WASHINGTON: The United States said it will nominate President Donald Trump's top adviser for Latin America to lead the Inter-American Development Bank, which has never been run by an American in its 60-year history.

Mauricio Claver-Carone, who is of Cuban descent and currently head of Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council, is known for his long-standing anti-Castro activism and firm opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Tuesday that Claver-Carone would help steer the region through the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

"The IDB is at a critical juncture as the region faces growing challenges to economic growth and sustainable development, particularly in light of the global pandemic," he said.

South America has been badly hit by COVID-19, with the World Health Organization warning earlier this month that medical facilities across the continent are at risk of being overwhelmed.

Brazil has reported more than 45,000 coronavirus deaths.

The IDB, the main source of financing for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean, was founded in 1959.

It has had four presidents: Chilean Felipe Herrera (1960-1970), Antonio Ortiz Mena of Mexico (1970-1988), Uruguayan Enrique Iglesias (1988-2005), and Colombian Luis Alberto Moreno, the current president.

With Washington's Claver-Carone nomination, many analysts see the end of a tacit agreement among IDB members to have a Latin American president and a US executive vice president.