Diaz-Balart: I Applaud the Decision to Select the Honorable John D. Barsa as Acting Administrator for USAID

WASHINGTON, D.C. ­­–– Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) issued the following statement after President Trump announced his intent to nominate John Barsato be the Acting Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

"I applaud the decision to select the Honorable John D. Barsa as Acting Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Having known John for decades, I have witnessed his professional growth from able congressional staffer to a skilled, capable leader and manager of large government organizations. On policy, John fully appreciates the importance of outreach to those languishing under tyranny in places such as Venezuela and Cuba while maintaining tight sanctions on dictatorships. As the Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, John worked closely with the Guaido administration in promoting democracy, highlighted the truth about the Cuban foreign medical mission program as state-sponsored human trafficking, and promoted security, rule of law, and anti-corruption measures throughout our hemisphere. I warmly congratulate John on his new position and look forward to working closely with him in this new capacity on these and other issues of paramount importance to U.S. foreign policy and national security interests throughout the world."