WASHINGTON _ Diplomats say a revolving door of Latin American specialists at the White House and State Department has left the region's leaders wondering who in Washington they can turn to on important matters of national security and other issues.
The sudden departure of Juan Cruz, the senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House's National Security Council, and ongoing delays to install Kimberly Breier as assistant secretary of the State Department's Latin America division along with many other departures has left diplomats convinced the region is not a priority.
"We want to know to whom should we talk," said one South American diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because the diplomat was not authorized to publicly discuss U.S. policy. "First, you cut everyone at the State Department. Now, after a year of getting to know people at the White House, you're changing everything again."
