James Caldwell Cason (born November 14, 1944) is a retired

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carry ...

officer, most recently serving as Ambassador to

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, a post he held from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that post, he was the Principal Officer of the

US Interests Section in Havana The United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, Cuba or USINT Havana (the State Department telegraphic address) represented United States interests in Cuba from September 1, 1977, to July 20, 2015. It was staffed by ...

(2002–2005). On January 20, 2011, he became the new mayor of Coral Gables, Florida.

Background

Cason graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1966 and has an M.A. from the

School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of th ...

(SAIS),

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

(JHU).

Career

Prior to assuming his post as

United States Ambassador to Paraguay The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Paraguay. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.'' See a ...

, he served as the chief of the

United States Interests Section in Havana The United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, Cuba or USINT Havana (the State Department telegraphic address) represented United States interests in Cuba from September 1, 1977, to July 20, 2015. It was staffed by ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, from September 10, 2002 to September 10, 2005. He was succeeded by Michael E. Parmly. Cuban media broadcast a series of satirical animations poking fun at Cason known as ''Cabo Cason''. Cason also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Kingston, Jamaica. Previously he served as Political Advisor to the Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Command (USACOM) and to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT). Cason also served at U.S. missions in Milan, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; San Salvador, El Salvador; Panama City, Panama; Maracaibo, Venezuela; Montevideo, Uruguay; and La Paz, Bolivia.

Cuban dissidents

A group of 735 Cuban

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

s (some connected with the Varela Project) were arrested by the Cuban government and accused of accepting gifts (including cash as well as office machines and office space) from Cason and the US Interests Section. Their arrests coincided with the onset of the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

in March 2003. An exhibit (billboard) was erected by the United States Interests Section in Havana on September 8, 2005, in protest of the incarcerations. A number of the dissidents were subsequently released, but most of the individuals remained imprisoned until 2010.

Guarani music

While posted in Paraguay, Cason learned the

Guaraní language Guaraní (), specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guarani ( "the people's language"), is a South American language that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani family of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of ...

, a language spoken by 94% of the people of that country and in 2008, recorded an album, "Campo Jurado" ("The Field of Promises"), in which he sings folk songs in Guaraní.A U.S. Ambassador's Parting Gift To Paraguay
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References

* ''The Miami Herald'',Former Diplomat, Local Attorney Latest Candidates in Mayor's Race by Tania Valdemoro; September 4, 2010; Page 3B.

External links