The Trump administration’s directive now leaves the United States without leadership in critical countries including in Rwanda, Egypt and Armenia – all countries where Washington is trying to sustain peace efforts that the president has championed.
It is the latest in the Trump administration’s efforts to concentrate high-stakes diplomacy in the hands of a small group of special envoys comprising longtime friends like son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who are now working on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and post-war plans for Gaza.
The majority of the ambassadors removed from their position worked in 13 countries in Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Ambassadorial changes are also coming to six countries in Asia: Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Four countries in Europe (Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia) are affected; as are two each in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt); South and Central Asia (Nepal and Sri Lanka); and the Western Hemisphere (Guatemala and Suriname).
As the ambassadors for these posts now return home, the Trump administration is also working to nominate permanent ambassadors to key allies like Australia, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Ukraine.
Eric Rubin, a retired career diplomat and the former president of the American Foreign Service Association, which represents US diplomats, told CNN called it a ‘serious insult to the countries affected and a huge gift to China.’
American Buddhist Net 